No Way Out
by glitteryv0dka
Summary: SPOILERS FOR INFINITY WAR** She was falling, but it was endless. Everything was unfamiliar. And by the time she stopped, she was trapped with someone she barely knew in a strange place, trying desperately to find a way out.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is about what happens to the characters that Thanos killed before the snap. It's going to be about where they ended up, and what they do in that place.**

* * *

He was choking.

Struggling for air.

He'd killed many people in his lasting lifetime, but never in this way.

He thought of the effort it would take him to strangle the life out of someone before crushing their windpipe completely, as what was happening to him in this moment.

Even for the Mad Titan himself it was taking some effort.

Or maybe he wanted to draw it out, Loki wasn't entirely sure.

There was one thing he was sure of, however. This was the end.

" _The sun shall shine on us again."_

He tried his hardest to look to his brother.

His brother who had endured the worst of anyone he'd ever known, and still managed to be the best person he'd ever known.

He knew this was his end. There was no again for the God of Mischief. No sun to shine for him once more.

But for his brother? Well Loki had hope.

His brother needed to survive this. There was no other way. He would not die until he was sure the sun would at least shine on his brother once more.

He felt his kicking legs grow weaker and weaker. He felt his face begin to lose feeling, and as his breaths became harder to take, he knew he needed to take his moment.

His final moment.

"You will never be a God."

Then it all went black.

He'd come to reliving the entire experience more times than he could possibly count.

* * *

She was falling.

Again and again and again.

He would grab her arm and throw her from Vormir's cliff.

She would plummet to the rocky surface below, seeing on his face as she met her fate.

She would feel her bones crack on the impact. The loss of her warm blood pouring out of her head as her lungs burned for air and her mind tried to focus on something that wasn't his face as she drew her last, pain riddled breath.

Again and again and again.

She didn't die as soon as she'd hit the ground below the cliffs, as she had prayed for each time she was flung. She would have to endure three minutes of unimaginable pain as she saw his face staring down at her.

The last thing she'd ever see was him. The man who "loved" her more than anything else. Her abductor. Her abuser. Her father, the Mad Titan himself.

In her last moments, all she could think of was her family. Of Peter. She fell to her end thinking only of the man she loved more than anything.

* * *

It was the 465th time he had thrown her from the cliff when she screamed on the way down.

"Stop!"

Suddenly she wasn't looking at Thanos anymore.

The speed slowed as if she was floating, and she was.

She was falling through space onto a ship that had been laid to ruin, probably from her father.

She wasn't affected at all by the conditions of space, it wasn't like before when Nebula blew her from her pod.

But before she was still alive. She felt her chest tighten at the memory of Peter risking his life to give her his mask so she could survive space years ago.

Her chest tightened even more at the fact that she'd never get to see Peter again.

She landed hard on her side, barely getting a visual on the scene she had landed in before it all dematerialized before her, and she began to fall again.

This time it was quicker, and the scenery changed again.

She landed in cold, black sand. She rolled onto her back to see the yellow sky above her. There would clouds in orange and red shades, and there was water down the sand dune next to her. It was crystal clear and completely calm.

She heard something else hit the sand several yards away.

She rolled onto her side, pushing herself up quickly.

She gripped her side, grasping for her sword before remembering she'd left it on Knowhere.

She still squared her shoulders and stood on the balls of her feet, prepared to fight whoever had joined her, wherever she was.

She couldn't tell from her position who or what had followed her here, but she took her time approaching. She couldn't hear any movement, maybe it was someone who had died on that ship.

She stalked across another small sand dune before getting a clear view of what had landed in this place with her.

"Loki?" She called, jogging towards the unmoving figure.

He had landed face down in the water, and his skin looked purple. She pulled him from the water, dragging him up the hill on his back.

She pulled back quickly, biting back a gasp once she saw his neck had been completely crushed. No doubt her father's doing.

She sat back onto the sand, drawing her legs to her chest.

She only knew Loki for a short time. He'd promised to get the Space Stone from Terra for Thanos years ago, before she had betrayed him. Thanos has given him an army and the promise that Terra would be his to rule if he got the stone for him. Thanos had even considered sending Gamora to Terra with him to ensure he'd deliver.

In the end, Loki had failed, and Thanos searched far and wide for him. She guessed Thanos finally found him.

Loki's coughing snapped her out of her haze. He had shot up quickly, gasping for air. His hands went around his throat frantically. As if he knew what had killed him already.

She leaned forward then, placing a hand on his chest. "Hey, you're alright."

He pushed her hand off, panting heavily before turning to look at her. His eyes were wide, and it took him a moment to recognize her.

"Gamora?" He pushed some of his sweat covered hair from his face. "What are you doing here?"

She sat back once she knew he'd be alright. "I'm dead, same as you apparently." Her voice came out shakier than she had intended. She almost felt like crying. She'd never even known Loki, but anything was better than dying over and over again. _Seeing Thanos over and over again._

He pushed himself into a sitting position then, "Well, what a pair are we?"

She let out a dry laugh at his sarcasm, "So it may seem."

He looked around before attempting to stand. Gamora hopped up quickly, bending down to help him stand. He leaned into her more than she had expected. It didn't bother her much because as they walked, she found her legs were shaky as well.

For awhile they just leaned into each other, walking over sand dunes and avoiding the small pools of water when they could. Neither of them said anything, and Gamora was thankful he wasn't trying to make conversation. She didn't know Loki well before, but she wasn't really looking for a heart to heart. The only thing they had in common was that they were both dead, and it seemed that Thanos was the one that had killed the both of them. All that, and the fact that they seemed to be all alone in this strange place.

After awhile of walking, they both stopped and sat down on top of a taller hill.

Loki rubbed some sweat off his forehead, panting a little bit, "Do you know where we're going?"

Gamora ran her hands over her face, "I don't even know if there's a place to go to."

He sighed, "Right. Is this a planet?"

Gamora rolled her eyes, becoming frustrated with the the lack of results from their journey, "I don't know, does death lead to another planet?" She rubbed her temples gently, a headache developing. "Aren't you a god or something? Shouldn't you know all this?"

Loki shrugged, pulling his knees to his chest, "Not that kind of god."

"Ah," she nodded, "All hope is lost then?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I suppose," he wiped more sweat off his brown.

After a few seconds of silence, Loki sat up straighter, snapping his fingers. "How many times did you die?"

She gave him a shocked look, "Why?"

He rubbed his fingers together as if he were thinking, "Was it over and over again? Your death?"

She nodded, "Yeah, yours?"

He looked at her then, "Yes."

"So, it was like a loop." She wondered aloud. "Is that what death is?"

Loki shook his head, "Well neither of us have ever truly died before, so I can't be sure. But-"

"But what?" She asked, leaning closer to him, as if he could somehow provide some information that could undo all the damage that had been done.

"I wasn't the only one that died on that ship." Loki finished.

"Well, did Thanos kill everyone?" She asked.

"No, his children did."

"Did he kill you?"

He looked off then, absentmindedly rubbing his throat. "Oh yeah."

She nodded, looking out into the bright yellow sky, "Me too."

"Okay," he started, "So we're not the only ones that have died today, but we are the only ones that we know of that Thanos actually killed."

Loki continued to ramble, but she kept her eyes on the sky, taking their surroundings. As she did so, she noticed this chain of thinner looking clouds that were a rust color that seemed to be heading southwest. She hadn't noticed them before. She turned her head to see if there was anything they were leading to that she could see. She cranned her neck, becoming uncomfortable. She turned her whole body then, following the clouds with her eyes. Just as she had suspected, there was a black mountain that looked hauntingly familar far off in the southwest outreaches of this planet.

"Vormir," She said out loud, standing up then.

Loki turned his head to see where she was going, "What?"

"Vormir," She repeated, turning to help him up.

He took her hand but was steadier as he stood this time. "The planet? What about it? It's barren, no life at all."

Her voice was frantic, "No, I died on Vormir. He killed me there."

"Why? What's on Vormir?" He asked, searching her eyes for some kind of clue as to what she was getting at.

"The Soul Stone." She muttered. "I think we're still on Vormir. Or some version of it."

"How do you figure?" He asked, unsure of how she seemed to suddenly connect these dots.  
She pointed to the mountain at the edge of their horizon behind her, "That mountain. He threw me off it to get the Soul Stone."

Loki stopped for a moment, "Oh."

She couldn't tell what look he was giving her, it looked a little like realization mixed with sympathy, but she wasn't in the mood for any of it. "So Thanos kills me, I relive my death on Vormir. Thanos kills you, you relive your death-"

"In space." He cut her off, snapping his fingers again.

"Yeah, that I don't get." She said, running a hand through her hair.

"I gave him the Space Stone." Loki admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

Gamora became confused, "Wait if you gave him the stone, then why did he kill you?"

"I didn't give it to him willingly," he explained, "He was gonna kill my brother."

"Thor?" She asked, putting two and two together.

He nodded, "You know him?"

"We pulled him from the wreckage." She said, remembering her team once again, her family.

"So he's alright?" Loki asked, hope brimming in his eyes.

She nodded, "He's with two of my companions, Rocket and Groot. Went to get a new weapon."

Loki allowed a small smile to play on his features, "Good."

She looked down then, unsure of how to really address any emotional discussion with Loki. She just wanted to figure out where they were, and if there was any way they could get out of here.

"So, we're on Vormir," Loki started up again, having burried his feelings about his brother's survival. "You died here, the Soul Stone was here, and now we're stuck here?"

"I think so," She nodded.

"How does that make any sense?" He asked, "I mean unless,"

"Unless we're in the Soul Stone." Gamora finished.

He ran a hand over his mouth, "Is that what it does? We died today, and we end up inside the Soul Stone?"

Gamora tilted his head, "I don't think the afterlife divides us up by people who have been killed by one specific person. And even if it did, there would be a lot more people here than just us two."

Loki nodded, "True. So the stone has our souls? Does that mean we can get out of here?"

"I don't know," Gamora paused for a second, running a hand through her hair, "It still doesn't explain why we were stuck reliving our deaths. It was like we were stuck in some time loop"

"Yeah that wouldn't make any sense. Unless…" He trailed off.

"Unless?" She pressed, leaning towards him again.

"Did Thanos have the Time Stone when he got to you?" Loki asked, his eyes looking desperate.

She shook her head, "No. As far as I know, he has the Power, Space, Reality, and Soul Stones."

"And if we're in the Soul Stone, we're technically part of Thanos' weaponry. Which he basically compands with his will to commit these actions. His mind."

Gamora nodded, "So, we're in the Soul Stone, but we're stuck living the same moment over and over again."

"But he doesn't have the Time Stone yet," Loki added, "which means what?"

Gamora looked back at the moment, the clouds surrounding it were beginning to turn green. "It means he's making play for the Time Stone."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter was harder to write, but I hope I did it justice. There will be several chapters after this one. I'm still not sure how much I want to do yet. Let me know what you think.**

* * *

They had been running for, well he didn't know how long. But they were definitely reaching the mountain soon. What frightened him the most about approaching the massive, and quite frankly, the only thing in this place worth running to, was that the more they approached it, the more green mist appeared.

It definitely baffled him at how great of shape she was in though. After what felt like several miles, and their actual death, her pace never waivered. He, however, needed a lot of help. He was steadier on his feet, but running for long distances seemed to wear him out quicker than ever before.

Everytime he thought about facing Thanos again, he remembered the feeling of the life being squeezed from him. He'd never been one for fear, but it was like the Titan's hand was to his throat all over again. He'd often stop, panting uncontrollably to claw at his throat.

Gamora turned around at the sound of him slumping to his knees.

"Loki," she jogged back towards him, easily closing the distance. "Loki, get up."

He couldn't even focus on her voice, all he could feel was death. As if it was happening all over again.

She dropped to her knees as well, "Loki, look at me." Her voice was relatively even, but bits of desperation were threatening to take hold of her tone.

He wanted to, he did. He wanted to appease his new companion, to find comfort in her words, her presence, but it was all hopeless. Wasn't it?

She grabbed his hands that had been busy grabbing at his throat in protest of Thanos' unseen grip. "Loki." She commanded.

He looked at her then, the painful sensation of yet another, drawn out destruction fading away.

Her eyes were deep and determined. The specks of gold seemed to swim in the brown of her eyes. It calmed him to know someone else was there. Someone else was real.

"I know what you're thinking. I know how this feels," She rubbed the back of her head then, making him wonder how painful her end must've been. "We have died over and over at the hands of my father. Hundreds of times, we've met the same fate. I will not let him get to you again." Her voice was confident, as if she could deliver on that promise without question. As if he should trust her without hesitation.

He took a deep breath, happy to find that it wasn't a struggle in that moment anymore. "How do you know this isn't real?" He didn't like the way his voice sounded when he asked that question. He felt weak. Pathetic. No one had seen him like this before.

She gave him a sincere look, "Because this is what he wants. He wants us to be afraid, he wants us to fail. But we have to trust each other in here. We're all we've got now." She grabbed his forearm and pulled him to his feet with her, allowing him to lean into her once more for support. He noticed a flash of sadness flicker across her features. It disappeared just as quickly as he had seen it.

He nodded then, allowing himself to put a lot of his weight on her for support. After several steps, he managed to job behind her on his own.

He was breathing heavily once more when they reached the base of the mountain.

"This way," She called back to him as she started up the steep path.

He started on the trail quickly, almost afraid to lose her within the mountain once they started. He made an active effort to watch her as she climbed. He recalled her mentioning this was where she had died. She had relived the same fate that he had, and he wanted to provide the support she had done for him if she ever needed it on their journey. They climbed in silence. Mostly because they were having trouble seeing far ahead of themselves. The mist had become an even darker shade of green, and was thickening within the air as they hiked.

Loki was so focused on not tripping over uneven ground within a cave atop the mountain that he bumped into her back. She flinched slightly at the contact, but her eyes didn't leave the sight in front of them. He walked around her, placing himself between her and whatever had caused her to stop in her tracks.

The Mad Titan himself stood several feet ahead of him, his arm behind him a little bit, as if he was guarding something that was no longer there. Loki noticed that he was in the same stance, only he was blocking Gamora from the scene.

"Is this where you perished?" He asked, turning his head slightly to get a look at her face.

She didn't look away from Thanos, but shook her head.

Loki took her wrist in his hand, leading her past Thanos and the hooded figure that was addressing him.

"Remember, it's not real." He offered as he led the way up the rocky terrain to the mountain's peak.

He didn't recognize the red faced figure that seemed to be guiding Thanos up the mountain behind him. Loki heard the figure answer a question that hadn't been asked by Thanos at all, and he turned back, trying to see if there was anyone else there. When he didn't see anyone else, he looked beside him to Gamora. She had clutched his hand in hers and was looking straight ahead.

She didn't have to look at him to know his question, "It's me."

He nodded, "This isn't real, alright?"

She didn't do or say anything that indicated that she had heard him. She just pressed on, stepping ahead of Loki once more to lead him. He didn't let go of her hand; they both needed some sort of connection to what was real now.

They reached the top of the mountain before Thanos had. Gamora released his hand and walked over to the edge of the cliff. Much to their surprise, the green fog was beginning to fade into lighter blue mist steaming off from the ground far below the cliff.

"It's the Space Stone." He said, beginning to feel wary of Thanos once more.

She nodded, "He's using it to find the Time Stone."

Loki took a couple deep breaths, "How do you know?"

She raised and lowered one shoulder, "I don't think there'd be anything here if that wasn't the case." She looked behind her, seeing Thanos standing a few feet away, listening intently to someone beside him that was no longer there. She knew Thanos was listening to her. She realized what was about to happen then.

"Do you think the mist will lead us to where Thanos actually is? Out of the Stone?" Loki had been pacing across the cliff's edge, staring down into the bottom.

"Loki," She started, feeling something grip her arm. She glanced to her side and saw nothing. When she looked behind her, Thanos was grabbing into the empty air, stalking towards the edge of the cliff.

Loki was several feet away from her, scratching the back of his head and looking around the edge of the cliff's face.

"Loki!" She called.

He turned to her then, "Whoa, what's happening?"

She felt a strong force dragging her closer to the edge, the same ironclad grip that was ingrained into her memory now. It was happening again.

Loki took off towards her, quickly covering the distance between them.

The feeling of her father's grip on her became stronger the closer he got to her. By the time his stance overlapped with Gamora's, she felt herself being tossed backwards off the ledge.

Loki skidded to a stop at the cliff's edge. His fingers barely grazed hers before she was dropped off the ledge.

"Gamora!" He shouted as she fell through the blue smog below.

He suddenly was overcome with a feeling that he'd only felt once in his life. A feeling he'd experienced in regards to his brother. He took a deep breath, diving off the cliff after her. He didn't know where this would end, or if it ended at all. He did know that they made a promise to stay together while they were in this world.

He could barely see through the mist, and it was only seeming to get thicker as he fell. He thought of Gamora's death. How far she must've fallen before the end. How long she must've laid broken on the ground below before finally taking her last breath. He wondered if the last thing she saw was Thanos, or if she had been a little more lucky than he had. He hoped she had been spared with any image other than her father's.

Far in the distance, he saw the silhouette of her falling. He attempted to call out to her, but nothing came from his mouth. He saw the tunnel of blue mist they were flying through begin to narrow, almost as if it would split off into different directions. The closer he got to that split, the more he felt as if he was splitting apart too.

Loki shook off this growing feeling of wariness. He needed to get to her before that happened. Before the tunnels split. He couldn't be alone again. He couldn't leave her alone again either. She swore to him she wouldn't let him die at the hands of the Mad Titan again, and he needed to make sure he'd do the same to her.

He forced himself to focus, thinking only of closing the distance between them. The further he fell, the harder it was to see. After what felt like an hour, he felt himself gripping her ankle. She kicked her leg and began to yell.

"It's me!" He managed.

He used her weight to pull himself forward, gripping her shoulders to keep her close to him. Once he knew she was safe, he allowed this feeling of becoming truly undone to overtake him. He felt his eyes roll back and then succumbed to the darkness.

He woke up feeling cold, but different. She was sitting next to him, her hand on his wrist. He realized then that she was checking his pulse. She released his hand when she saw he was awake. "You're alright." She murmured with a smirk.

He sat up slowly, allowing her to help him once more. "So are you." He quipped, mirroring her expression.

She nodded, "Yeah, thank you for jumping in after me."

He scoffed then, "You were the one who made that big speech about not letting each other die. I had to one up you somehow."

She chuckled at that, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it. "Well, I'm glad we both made it out."

He sat up straighter, craning his neck to take in their surroundings. "Where did we make it out to?"

She looked around along with him, "Titan, I think."

His eyes widened, "This dump is Titan?"

Gamora stood up then, extending her hand to help him do the same. "Did you expect something prosperous?"

He got up with her, "No, I suppose not."

She motioned far to her left, "I heard something that way while you were out. We should try it."

Loki nodded, "Do you think it's Thanos?"

She walked beside him, "It might be, but I don't think Thanos is here."

"How do you figure that?"  
"We fell through the path of the Space Stone. If Thanos was here, I think we would've ended up landing closer to him." She sounded really self assured, but she gave Loki a strange look.

"What?" He asked, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Your body completely shut down when we were in the path of the Space Stone." She wondered aloud, continuing to walk beside him.

Loki thought about it for a moment, remembering how weak he felt when they were deep in the Space Stone. "I hadn't thought about it being because of the Space Stone."

"You died once he got the Space Stone, right?"

Loki nodded, "Right. So do you think we're somehow linked to the stones we died for?"

Gamora tilted her head, "I'm not sure. I haven't felt any effects from the Soul Stone."

"Well hopefully you won't ever have to." He muttered.

They walked in silence for several minutes, climbing over fallen debris that are covered in dust and dirt.

"It's as if we're walking the gravesite of an entire planet," He thought aloud, looking around at fallen buildings, preserved by the uncertain conditions of planet.

Gamora nodded, "It's not the first time I've felt that way." Her voice was strained, as if she was recalling all her regrettable moments in life.

"Hey," he started, stopping and grabbing her arm.

She turned then, stopping as well and raising her eyebrow at him. "What?"

He motioned all around them, "You see this?"

She nodded, "Unfortunately."

"This wasn't you." He ran a hand through his hair, "Even the things that used to be you, aren't you."

She scoffed, attempting to mask the way his words were resonating with her. "I know that." She removed her arm from his gentle grip and walked ahead.

He stood there for a moment, a little surprised by her sudden distance. But hold on, why did he care? He felt awkward as he stood there watching her walk away. He didn't understand why her resistance bothered him so much. It wasn't like he knew exactly how to provide her with comfort, but he wanted to know. He knew she felt guilty about her time with Thanos, and he could relate in all honesty. He wanted to help her. To say something. Something about this woman reminded him of all the reasons why he wanted to be better when he was still alive.

He had been so lost in his confusion he didn't notice how far ahead she had gotten before she called to him. "Loki! You can't stay here alone."

He jogged a little to catch up, but stopped short when he heard the commotion.

" _Oh yeah, you're much more of a Thanos."_

Loki looked to Gamora, who had stopped as well. She was staring ahead of them. They could hear that they weren't alone, but he wasn't able to see anything.

"Do you see anything?" He asked.

She shook her head, looking around for the source to that voice. They seemed to be entrapped in a maze of broken down buildings and other rubble. They were surrounded on all sides by the ruin left from Titan, unable to see where this strange voice was coming from.

He heard the Mad Titan's booming voice then. He flinched, but was amazed to find that Gamora reached for a weapon that was no longer there.

"Damnit," she muttered.

He smirked then, happy to have the feel of swords materialize within his fingertips. Even in death, no one could best the God of Mischief.

"Looking for something?" He asked before tossing her a sword.

She smiled as she caught the weapon and examined it. "Asgardian?" She asked.

He nodded.

"Nice," was all she offered as a dangerous glimmer filled her eyes. He knew that look. Thor himself had often gotten it before battle. She was ready for a fight.

Before either of them could take a step forward, the planet changed. The sky became blue and the grass was green. The buildings were suddenly rebuilt, and the planet seemed to be restored to its former glory.

"The Reality Stone." She muttered, looking around the new environment.

Loki was taking in the new landscape as well, but stopped short when he saw Thanos standing a few hundred yards away, talking to that damned sorcerer that trapped him in a falling realm. "There!" He motioned towards them, getting Gamora's attention.

She caught sight of them and took off running towards Thanos.

Before long, the atmosphere returned to its current state of ruin, but Loki and Gamora had made it to the scene before it changed back. A fight had broken out as they arrived on the scene. The sorcerer was using his magic to transport different weirdly dressed fighters to attack Thanos at every angle.

Gamora threw her sword as if it was a spear, and the two of them watched it fly towards Thanos. The sword passed through his chest as if Thanos was an illusion, like the ones Loki had casted of himself many times before.

"They can't see us?" She whispered, watching as some kid dressed in a red and blue Ironman costume shot webs at Thanos' guantlet.

"We got out of the stone, but we're ghosts here." He wondered aloud.

"Give me your sword." She demanded, sticking her hand towards him.

"It won't do anything, Gamora." He reminded her as he watched the fighting unfold.

"I have to try." She barked as she drew back the sword. She stopped short once another fighter appeared from the sorcerer's portal. He looked as if he was from Earth, but was wearing a smuggler's universal clothing. He was dressed as a Ravager.

The sword slipped from her fingers and disappeared on the ground.

"Peter," She breathed.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This chapter is a bit longer, but I couldn't find a place that would split it up. It seemed suitable being this long. I am going to start incorparating some of the other characters from Infinity War. Let me know what you think of this chapter.**

* * *

Much to her surprise, Peter and the rest of them had gained the upper hand.

Drax and Mantis were with them still. Even Nebula had managed to escape Thanos. She felt deflated when she saw her sister, her friends, Peter. She was watching them do the impossible, watching them win against Thanos. But they couldn't see her, and they never would again.

She and Loki had stayed back from the fight once they realized they were basically observers to the living now. She wondered if Thanos could see them, or if that sorcerer that possessed the Time Stone could see them. She honestly wasn't sure she cared at this point. Whether they'd ever see her again or not, they were beating Thanos. Her family would survive this. Peter would survive this.

"Are you alright?" Loki asked as this group of Avengers bound Thanos.

She took a deep breath, realizing in that moment that some tears had streamed down her cheeks as she watched. "Uh," she coughed, feeling awkward as she wiped her face quickly, "Yeah, yeah. I just am glad to see they're alive."

Loki nodded, "The Ravager, you mean?"

She didn't look away from them. From Peter. She wanted to take in every second, fearing these were the last few. "They're winning," was all she offered.

Loki opened his mouth to speak, but was pacified by the commotion.

" _Where is Gamora?"_ Peter called, his voice growing angry.

Gamora stared at Thanos, climbing off the debris she and Loki had been watching from.

"Gamora, wait-" He called, reaching for her arm.

She glanced back at him, "Come on!" She yelled, breaking off into a sprint as she heard Peter ask once more, sounding desperate.

Loki ran down the rubble after her, unsure of what they were actually going to do once they got there.

"Does Thanos even know we're here?" He asked her, unsure of what she was planning.

Gamora skidded to a stop behind Peter, "Father!" She called to him, feeling uneasy.

Loki's eyes widened when he saw Thanos' comatose expression soften a little bit.

" _My Gamora,"_ The Mad Titan moaned, eyes barely open, but definitely looking at her.

" _Bull shit."_ Peter growled.

Gamora looked between Thanos, Nebula, and Peter. She was watching them figure it out.

"No," she breathed, running around Peter, standing between him and Thanos.

" _He's in anguish."_ Mantis began, " _He-he mourns."_

Drax began to laugh as he gripped Thanos' leg, " _What could this monster possibly have to mourn?"_

"They don't know," Loki realized aloud, staring at Gamora's back.

" _Gamora!" Nebula realized._

Peter looked back at Nebula, his face unreadable.

" _They went to Vormir to get the Soul Stone. Thanos returned, Gamora didn't."_ Nebula's head dropped then, Gamora saw tears forming in her sister's eyes.

"They're your family?" Loki asked as he watched the Ravager take several deep breaths, yelling at Thanos for answers.

Gamora took a chance and pressed her hands against Thanos' chest. Weapons would fly right through him, but her hands made contact with his chest.

"Please don't kill them." She murmured to her father. She looked at Peter then, wishing he could see her. "Don't do this," she started, tears welling in her eyes once more. "Don't let them down." She looked back at the newer members of the group she hadn't met. One of them, the smaller man in a high tech costume with spider legs attached, looked like he was just a child. He didn't deserve to die. If Peter lost his temper, it was a safe bet all of them would perish.

Tony Stark put himself between Peter and Thanos as well. "Easy Quill. We've almost got this thing off." He tried to convince Peter to stay calm. Gamora could tell that this man was starting to see Peter fall apart. Her heart broke for him. "Please," was all she could muster. But she knew what happens when Peter gets that look in his eyes. He got it on Ego for his mother, and he has it now for her. Revenge.

Peter drew his gun and took a couple steps forward, back towards Thanos.

Gamora began to panic. She could touch Thanos, but she couldn't stop Peter.

Peter stepped forward once more, his stance overlapping Gamora's. She tried again, pressing her hand against his chest, and for one moment, she felt contact with him. He stopped then, looking down at his chest, and then right into Gamora's eyes. He was searching for something, but she knew he felt her there. "I'm okay," she started, stifling sobs that were threatening to take hold, "I'm here."

Loki watched from several feet back, behind these Avengers and Gamora's family. The Ravager seemed to be trying to control his grief. Loki wondered if they had been in love. He could barely see Gamora's face from his position, but the Ravager shifted for a moment, and he saw her face. She was crying openly then, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. He wasn't sure what to do for her. Whether this man loved Gamora or not, they were about to have the gauntlet off. He could easily end Thanos and avenge her then. Surely, this man wasn't that stupid that he couldn't wait a moment.

He was wrong.

Loki watched the Ravager step right through Gamora and hit Thanos repeatedly with his gun.

It all fell apart then. The kid in the spider costume couldn't get the gauntlet off, and Thanos awoke angrily. He threw Mantis off his shoulders and used his gauntlet to create a swift within the planet. While using the gauntlet, Thanos shoved Gamora to the side, she fell harshly on her side, but instantly got up and ran after her friends, who had been knocked out and were flung across the barren field.

Loki doubled over as Thanos surged the power of the Space and Power Stones to take out Gamora's friends. His head was spinning and he definitely felt like he would vomit if he had to move. The ground cracked beneath him he felt himself fall towards the center of the planet. He shut his eyes. This was it.

Gamora stopped in her tracks when she heard Loki crying out in pain. She watched as her friends were thrown far ahead of her, realizing in that moment, there was nothing she could do to save them. She looked back at Loki, noticing the ground trembling beneath him. She could save him.

"Shit," she muttered as she pushed past falling rocks and dirt. She sprinted across the open field, dodging the Iron Man as she dove onto the ground, sliding headfirst towards Loki as the ground separated beneath him. Just as he began to fall. She gripped his wrist, bracing herself on a broken piece of a ship that had been stuck in the ground during the fight.

He opened his eyes once he felt himself jerk, hanging in the air. He looked up to see Gamora's hand gripping his. He let out a sigh of relief, swallowing the vile that had risen in his throat.

"I gotcha," she called down to him as she pulled him up quickly, and he hit the ground harshly beside her. Her back was against the ship she had braced herself on. She was breathing heavily as she watched the fighting continue around them.

"Thank you," He gasped, not used to having someone so willing to sacrifice for him.

She shrugged, "Don't mention it." Her voice sounded distracted. She hadn't torn her eyes away from the fight in front of them once she saw that he was alright.

Loki sighed deeply, unsure of what to do. It was obvious that this new branch of Avengers had lost the fight here. There was no way now that Thanos would walk away without the Time Stone. He looked back at Gamora, who looked as if she was beginning to realize there was no way to beat him. He didn't like the way hopelessness has seemed to etch itself into her features. She almost looked lost.

He took a heavy breath before struggling to his feet. The stone was definitely connected to him. He felt like it was drawing power from him each time Thanos had used it. But he couldn't sit there anymore. He'd made plenty of mistakes in his long life, but he wasn't going to let doing nothing here be one of them.

He had a plan. It was not well thought out and based completely on a hunch, but he had to try. He made sure he was steady before running across the field. He had a sneaking suspicion that the sorcerer was able to see them, or at least sense them. After all, Thanos possessed the stones and could sense them. He and Gamora were linked to two of the stones. Maybe everyone that possesses a stone can see aspects of all the other ones.

"Loki!" She ran forward, watching him dodge several blasts from the Power Stone he was running in front of.

"I have an idea!" He called back, not allowing himself to turn back or slow down.

The sorcerer was blown backwards, out of view of the rest of the team.

"Hey! Wizard man!" Loki called, waving his hands to get his attention.

The sorcerer turned his head violently, as if he could barely hear Loki, but not see him.

"Loki?" He whispered, looking back up at Tony Stark fighting Thanos before searching the ground in front of him blindly, often overlooking where Loki was actually standing.

He waved his hands in the air, "Over here!"

He looked down right at Loki before blinking several times.

"How is this possible?" He wondered.

Loki rolled his eyes, "There's really no time to explain, but I have a plan."

Gamora ran up behind him then, dodging blaster fire as she slid to a stop beside Loki. "You're going to get yourself killed!" She yelled, gripping his arm to make him look at her.

"Who the Hell are you?" The sorcerer asked, raising his hands as if he was preparing for a fight.

Gamora's stance changed as well, she looked like she was on the verge of a fight or flight instinct.

He grabbed her hand, motioning for her to calm down, "No, see I have a plan. Please, Wizard-"

"It's Dr. Strange, alright? Jesus." He started to move his hands, creating a circle much like the one he used to trap Loki several days ago. "Loki of Asgard, you shouldn't be here. We have enough to handle here without you. But I love New York City, and Thor isn't here to plead your case, so you and your little lacky are done now. " The circle formed into a sort of whip.

Gamora pulled a dagger from Loki's belt, "Look. We're against Thanos! Don't make us fight you." Her voice was pleading, but deadly even.

"Okay, no need for that." He stepped in front of Gamora, pushing her hand down. "I'm telling you we're not here as enemies, like she said." He was getting nervous. The fight was getting closer to them, and he wasn't sure if he could convince this Doctor Strange to just hand over the stone.

Dr. Strange shook his head, "Don't buy it." He growled before throwing the whip in his direction. Gamora side stepped Loki, cutting the whip was it approached them with ease.

She ran forward, jumping up onto the broken ship where Dr. Strange was. She put her hands up as he prepared another whip, dropping the dagger.

"I am Gamora." She said just as he launched it at her.

Dr. Strange dropped his whip then, looking back to the fight for Peter. "Star Lord's Gamora?"

She nodded quickly, "Yes." She motioned for Loki to climb up behind her. "He and I are dead, but we're linked to the stones now."

He tilted his head at them, "Then how can I see you?"

Loki stepped up beside Gamora, "We think that if someone possesses a stone, they also possess the ability to see anything involving the other ones."

Doctor Strange tilted his head before gripping the Time Stone's case protectively.

"It's just a hunch." Loki added quickly, "But if you give it to us. Thanos will think it's with you. Once he realizes it's not, he'll never figure out where it is."

Dr. Strange shook his head, "I don't buy it, and I don't trust you worth a damn."

Loki turned around, seeing Thanos breaking up rubble behind them. He'd find Strange before they could make the switch. He took a deep breath, "Okay, then trust her. Give it to her, I'll never touch it. And if I try," he looked back at Gamora, "I give her permission to kill me. Again." He turned back to Gamora, who was staring at him. Her expression was unreadable, like most of the looks she'd given him since they'd met.

Strange looked quickly between the two of them, then towards Thanos who had thrown Spider Man past them. He released a frustrated groan, "Fine, fine. Take it, and run. Fast, alright? Get out of here." He ripped the necklace from him and tossed it to Gamora.

Loki quickly made a copy and handed it to him, "He won't get it, we promise."

Strange waved him off, "For the record, I'm not trusting you." He looked to Gamora, "Star-Lord and your friends had a lot to say about your bravery before this fight. I'm sorry to see that you didn't make it."

Gamora hooked the necklace onto her belt, nodding to Strange in thanks.

"You guys have to leave. Now!" Strange called as he created a circle and pushed it at them. They fell through it, landing hard on a broken wing of a ship, far away from the fight.

Gamora rolled over onto her back, breathing heavily as she felt on her belt, feeling better once she knew the Time Stone was still there.

She looked around for Loki, who was several feet ahead of her, pushing himself off the ground. "Hurts everytime," he muttered before spitting out some dirt and pushing himself to his knees.

"You alright?" He called back to her as he brushed some dirt off his sleeves.

She nodded, taking his hands and allowing him to help her to her feet.

"You're bleeding," He mumbled as he lightly gripped her chin, tilting her head.

She shook her head quickly, "It's nothing. The Stone's safe." She grabbed it from her belt and showed him.

He nodded then, still eyeing the cut across her temple.

Gamora could tell he wasn't incredibly convinced she was alright. Honestly, she wasn't either. She hadn't cut her head on the fall from the Doctor's magic. She felt as if someone was using her as a battery. She was wondering if Thanos was using the Soul Stone in that moment.

She flinched when Stark flew by, not expecting anyone to be so close to them.

"I thought we were far enough away!" Gamora yelled over the steady rumbling that seemed to come with Iron Man's passage.

"I know I did too." Loki looked back around them, wondering why Iron Man would've flown out this far. "Why would he fly towards us? Unless Strange didn't tell him about us being…" He trailed off as he figured out why Stark had gone out this far so quickly.

"What?" Gamora asked, turning around to follow his gaze.

Thanos had used the Power Stone to take hold of a moon that was orbiting Titan. With his gauntlet, Thanos had gripped and thrown a moon like it was some sort of baseball, and it was flying right towards them.

He gripped Gamora's arm, "We need to move!" He shouted as he ran forward, yanking her along with him.

She ran as fast as she could, but she was lagging behind Loki significantly. She felt her lungs burning, just as they had when her father had thrown her from the cliffs of Vormir. She felt the gravity shifting as the moon approached her. She wanted to stop, she felt like she would drop at any moment. She was losing sight of Loki, even though he was gripping her arm, tugging her along behind him.

She felt her legs give out, the view ahead of her going black.

Loki felt her arm go limp He skidded across the ground, slowing down. He quickly grabbed her once he saw she was passing out. "Gamora!" He pleaded, "Come on!"

Several large rocks began to fly around them, one grazing his head.

"Okay, okay." He started, glancing ahead of them to see a cavern within the ground. "Up we go." He wrapped an arm around her legs and the other around her shoulders, lifting her and running once more. He felt the moon against his back as he jumped down to safety. He tried to wrap himself around her for some protection once they hit the ground. He rolled forward, landing awkwardly. Gamora slipped from his grasp upon the impact, and he slid several feet further into the tunnel.

Gamora rolled to the right once she and Loki fell into the cavern. She awoke as they were falling, and desperately reached for him when she felt her body fall quickly, evading his grasp.

"Gamora!" He shouted as she disappeared into the darkness.

It felt as if this cavern wouldn't stop moving. Whether it was the literal moon that barely missed them or just the way Titan already was, the cavern shifted and moved as she fell deeper into it. She rolled onto her stomach as she slid, digging her nails into the rocks and dirt as she fell. The floor she was lying on seemed to drop beneath her, but she grabbed onto a rock beside her, catching herself before she fell too deep.

After several minutes of her hanging there, the cavern seemed to shift back to normal, and she was able to stand. Her legs were shaky, and she could barely see through the thick darkness that seemed to layer this place. She looked around quickly for her companion.

"Loki?" She called, becoming frustrated when her eyes wouldn't adjust to the darkness. She started to attempt to walk back to the cave's entrance, to find Loki.

She needed to lean against the walls of the cave to brace herself as she moved. The fall definitely banged her up. She was worried for her new companion. He didn't have modifications, and the Space Stone had weakened him.

"Loki!" She yelled, beginning to get nervous.

The ground suddenly began to shift once more. She felt the ground beginning to shift and move once more. She grabbed at the wall frantically.

"No, no, no." Gamora groaned, feeling her fingers slipping as the walls shifted. She lost her grip and began to fall into the darkness.

As she fell, she saw the Time Stone rise above her head, moving by itself outside of the cavern. She reached for it, but missed several times. As she fell, she began to see blue mist, resembling the last time she had traveled through the Space Stone forming at the bottom of the darkness.

She heard someone shouting far above her. She started grabbing at anything she fell past, not wanting to leave this place. Not wanting to leave the last place she'll ever see Peter, and not wanting to leave her new companion alone. She fell faster, feeling the blue mist envelope her.

"Loki!" She called one last time before being swallowed up, leaving Titan.

* * *

 **He felt his shoulder ramming into a rock, the contact stopping him altogether.**

He groaned painfully as he rolled onto his stomach, panting heavily. After several seconds of him attempting to steady his breathing, he pushed himself up. He spat out some blood and pushed his hair back behind his ears. He leaned into the rock that had broken his fall to stand up. He looked around quickly, not seeing Gamora anywhere.

"Gamora!" He shouted, standing up and beginning to panic. Was she still alive? Where was she? They couldn't be separated here.

The ground shook beneath him, causing him to lose his balance and fall. He felt the cavern shift completely. He rolled on his back quickly, trying to use his legs to brace himself against the walls. The rocks he was holding himself against shattered, and Loki began to fall.

" _Loki!"_ He heard Gamora call as he slid down the cavern. He began to fall faster, grasping at the walls of the cave for traction to slow down. He saw blue mist beginning to form at the bottom of this cavern. He felt his energy draining quickly. He felt the pull of the Space Stone, and wanted to submit to the exhaustion it had caused him.

" _No, no no!"_ He heard Gamora shout as she struggling to slow down her fall.

Loki opened his eyes then, a surge of energy flowing through him in that moment. He saw her several feet beneath him, the light from the blue mist showing her then. She was close to being enveloped by the mist, being ripped from this planet.

He thought quickly, conjuring a spear in his hand that had grabbed ahold of a rock on the cavern's wall. The spear was long enough to brace him against the walls of the cavern, but he wasn't close enough that he could grab her just yet.

"Gamora!" He shouted, barely dodging an object was flung from the bottom of the cavern.

She looked up at him, "The Stone!"

He realized then that that's what had passed him seconds ago. He tried to grab for it, but it was long gone. He shook his head violently, refusing to waste time and possibly Gamora's life over the Time Stone. "Forget it!" He shouted, feeling the pull of the Space Stone returning. "I'm gonna come down and grab you, but you have to let go when I get to you, alright?"

She looked up at him, her eyes uncertain. "I can get a little closer, but you can't stay there! It'll pull you in. You have to trust me!" He pleaded with her, fear of seperation setting in his mind.

She nodded then, taking a deep breath as she prepared to let go.

He loosened his grip on the spear, his lungs burning as the mist began to pull Gamora down once more. "Now!" He called as he fell, and he saw her fall quicker into the darkness. He felt his fingertips graze the collar of her shirt. He grabbed at it and twisted the spear, bracing it against the walls of the cave. They jolted to a stop as the Space Stone's mist began to disappear deeper within this cavern.

They hung there for a moment, breathing heavily and staring at the ground beneath them, now suddenly closer and lighter, as if the cavern ended at the surface of the planet.

Loki felt himself grow weaker once more, releasing Gamora and the spear. They both landed hapharzardly on their feet, back in the middle of the battlefied Dr. Strange had removed them from. It was as if Thanos knew where they were the whole time.

"Shit, how did we end up back here?" Loki wondered aloud.

"Reality," was all Gamora offered, pushing her hair out of her face. She winced in that moment, her hand connecting with a tender part of her face.

Loki took notice and stepped forward, "You're hurt." He tried again, wanting to help her as he did earlier on when she cut her temple.

She shook him off, "So are you."

He recalled the tenderness of his shoulder, but ignored it too. "It'll be fine."

She nodded at him, "Me too."

He rolled his eyes, wondering if she'd always been so difficult when it came to injuries. He watched her take tentative steps forward once she caught sight of the Ravager and their friends once more.

" _Did we just lose?"_ The Ravager's eyes were desperate, as if he was realizing the weight of his mistake in that moment. Loki shook his head at the man. Why hadn't he waited just a moment?

Stark got up then, "Yeah. We did lose, Quill."

So that was his name, _Quill_.

"Do you wanna know why?" Stark's tone was growing angrier by the moment. "Because you couldn't control your goddamn temper. Yes, you're lady friend is dead, but fucking it up so massively didn't bring her back, did it?"

Quill stood up straighter, taking a couple steps towards Stark. Loki noticed how tall this guy then, he towered over Stark, and honestly looked very intimidating in that moment. He was expecting Quill to fight back then, but he said nothing.

"You're right." His voice was small, far off. "I didn't do right by her. She'd be disappointed." He dropped his head then, looking at the ground as he sat down. He wiped his face with his sleeve, not looking at anyone. "I'm-I'm sorry."

Loki sighed deeply at the sight before looking for Gamora, who was approaching Quill slowly. She ended up taking a seat next to him, hugging her knees to her chest. He decided to follow her, sitting with his back against a large rock across from her, next to where Stark is standing.

"Are you alright?" He asked, unsure of how to read her or this situation.

"One stone left." Gamora said before turning her head towards Quill.

He nodded, "Yeah. One left."

They sat in silence for several minutes before he tried again. "How long have you been with them?"

Gamora looked at him, "Four years." She pointed to Nebula, who was sitting on the remains of an old ship a hundred yards away, "Most of my life."

Loki nodded, "I remember her, I think."

"My sister."

"Another daughter of Thanos?" Loki raised an eyebrow before following her gaze to Nebula.

Gamora nodded, "Yes, our father treated her the worst of all of us."

"Why do you call him your father? He's not your actual one." Loki looked back at her, wondering if she'd allow the question.

She sat there for a moment, staring at Nebula before taking two fingers and absentmindedly tracing the silver scars along her arms. "He's done damage only fathers could do."

Loki sighed then, understanding her a little bit more. "Modifications?" He asked, wanting to know more.

She looked back at Peter, who was allowing Mantis to pull him to his feet. "Started when I was a child. He said they made me strong."

"Like his warrior?" Loki asked, recalling Odin saying something similar to him and Thor as children.

Gamora looked back at him, "Like his weapon."

He just stared at her, unsure of what to say. She didn't get up to follow Quill when his friends grabbed him, she just watched him from her spot on the ground. He got up and approached her, watching her closely in an attempt to gauge her reaction. Once he was in front of her, he stuck his hand out, offering it to her.

She looked up at him, her expression softer than he'd seen it before. She took his hand and let him pull her gently to her feet. He noticed a significant amount of dried blood around a bigger metal scar on her wrist. the way the metal was still shining when the sun hit it at certain angles. He hadn't noticed it before.

"May I?" He asked, running his thumb over the scar gently.

Gamora stiffened at his question, but didn't pull her hand back.

"I won't hurt you." He felt like he was talking to a wounded animal. "I just want to make sure it's not too deep."

"It'll heal eventually." She offered.

"That's when we were alive though, wasn't it?" Loki asked, not satisfied with the amount of cuts and bruises on her now.

She nodded, "Fine."

Loki rolled back her sleeve, eyes widening at the sight of more cuts and bruises. The blood was mostly dried, but there were several fresh ones on her forearm. He grabbed his cape, tearing pieces off and using them as makeshift bandages.

Gamora watched intently, unsure of how to react. The only one who'd ever done something like this for her before was Peter.

"I didn't know the God of Mischief could be so dutiful." She thought aloud, raising an eyebrow as he worked diligently on wrapping her wounds.

He looked at her then, smirking at her comment. "Yeah, neither did I." He used a spare piece to wipe off some dirt and dried blood gently, cleaning her arms up a little bit. "What I want to know if why? Your skin should still be tough, and your modifications should still be working to some degree. We've had similar falls, and I'm not injured nearly as much."

Gamora shrugged, "I think he's beginning to use the Soul Stone."

Loki tilted his head at her, "How do you figure?"

"He has one stone left to go. He's probably preparing for the end game." Her voice sounded deflated, as if she was ready for the end.

Loki had to mask a sympathetic look. Thanos used the Space Stone in brief moments, but the power it took from him pained him to an extreme degree. He hoped that she'd never have to endure all the power the Soul Stone will need, especially since it'll involved half of the universe.

"Does it feel like it's starting soon?" He asked, wondering if she'd know if Thanos had succeeded before the rest of them.

She was quiet for an alarmingly long time before she turned her head quickly, as if she was trying to hear something whispered.

Loki tilted his head, trying to keep his grip on her arms to make sure she was steady. "Gamora?" He asked, not sure what was happening.

She tried to move away from him, but stumbled and collapsed to her knees.

He bent down with her, feeling alarmed as she started to shake uncontrollably. "What's happening?" He was beginning to panic. It was as if she had no control over her body any longer.

She cried out in pain, raising her hands into her hair as if her head was splitting. She fell forward, but he moved quickly and caught her. She was basically limp in his arms, just shaking. He moved some hair out of her face quickly. "Gamora? Gamora." He pleaded.

Her eyes were shut, and some blood had gushed from her nose. He felt her pulse, hoping she'd still be alive. There was a very faint heartbeat, slow and irregular.

"No no no no no." He began to become frustrated, looking around him desperately, wanting someone to see him. But that's when he saw it.

Quill was hugging one of their friends, and he turned to her and watched in horror as she disintegrated before their eyes. He felt Gamora's body flinch once it had happened, and Loki knew then what was to come.

Thanos had done it, and now his companion had the biggest burden to bare. Half the universe.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter is also a bit longer. I think I'll keep the rest this way. Writing about situations within the Soul Stone after the snap felt harder, but there was more freedom to think up some scenarios. I liked this one the best. It gives Loki and Gamora some more background and bonding. Let me know what you think in the reviews. Enjoy.**

* * *

He watched the rest of them slowly fade away. All except Stark and her sister, Nebula.

Gamora hadn't woken up, and they were still on Titan. He wasn't sure what to do or how to leave, but he needed to get her some help. He needed someone who understood all this. He figured the best bet would have been Dr. Strange, but he was long gone as well. He began to wonder if he'd happened upon any of the fallen Avengers since the Soul Stone seemed to be absorbing them completely.

"Stark." He tried, wondering if there was some way they could at least feel him. Stark was sitting on the ground, one hand on the dust remains of the Spider Kid who Loki now knew to be Peter, a close ally to Stark.

Gamora's sister was standing behind him, "He did it."

She felt lighter in his arms suddenly, and he looked down quickly. She was fading away as well. Just like her family, like half the universe.

"Gamora? Gamora!" He shouted, watching pieces of her dissolve into dust. He tried to hold her together, pulling her to him, thinking he could somehow slow this down.

He dropped his head then, realizing he had broken their agreement. He let her down. "I'm so sorry,"

Titan and its surroundings began to fade away much like half the universe just had. Like Gamora just had. Loki took a deep breath, leaning back and laying down next to the spot where Gamora just had been.

He felt the ground disappear beneath him, and he shut his eyes, preparing for the end.

* * *

He opened his eyes after several seconds, surprised that he hadn't felt any pain. He was actually back where he had started. This desert-like area that Gamora mentioned resembled Vormir. He looked around, noticing the skies were yellow once more. The clouds were rust in color again too, but something was different. There were shadows all around him, forming and fading as quickly as he could blink. They were in many different shapes and sizes, and he realized then that these were the shadows of half the universe that had perished at the hands of the Mad Titan.

He stood up then, brushing sand off his torn cape. He looked around, trying to see if the mountain he and Gamora had found was still there. He wasn't sure what to do, but he needed to do something. He was feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt. Guilt for many things. The way he lived his life after discovering Odin's lies to him during his childhood. The way he betrayed his brother countless times throughout his life. The lives he took happily at the request of Thanos. But in this moment, he was feeling the burden of guilt mostly over the fact that he had just lost a friend. Perhaps his first one.

She had reminded him of his mother in some ways. She was compassionate and strong like Thor, but practical and clever as well. He wondered if she had found her Ravager when she faded away. He also wondered how that was possible. She was already dead, where would she have gone?

He looked around in all different directions, growing frustrated with the lack of sights. He knew this was the Soul Stone, and it was doing its job. The souls were traveling through it, finding their place within the stone's mini universe. He wondered if that's what had happened to Gamora. But that didn't make sense to him either. The Soul Stone was still doing its job, so she couldn't have left it. She's linked to it, it draws her power from her. From the gauntlet. From Thanos.

" _Daughter?"_

Loki flinched, conjuring a dagger and holding it in front of him, in the direction of the Mad Titian's voice.

He didn't see any of this before, but there he was with the Mad Titan. He was watching him in what seemed to be a more vulnerable moment. He still towered over Loki, and honestly, Loki was a little nervous. He felt like he had walked into something he shouldn't have. He turned to leave, not seeing anything else besides Thanos.

He tried to remain quiet, stepping around the side of the scene, hoping that he wouldn't draw any attention to himself. He dropped onto his stomach, hiding behind a sand dune as he prepared to crawl away discreetly.

" _Did you do it?"_

Loki stopped short then, turning his head slowly towards the source of the question. There was a small girl standing underneath the remains of a Zen Whorebian temple. Loki recognized the architecture from a trip there with his mother when he was a mere child. The little girl was green, her hair was pulled back into an intricate braid. The typical Zen Whorebi style. He noticed the ends where magenta in color, and he wondered if this was the Gamora Thanos had first met.

" _Yes,"_

Thanos sounded actually guilty in his response. He had dropped his head, as if he was afraid to face her. As if she'd be able to see what he had done to her. To everyone.

" _But what did it cost?"_

Loki looked back at the little girl, her face becoming conflicted. He wondered if they could see him. He was basically in plain sight, just squatting behind a sand dune, trying to keep quiet. He couldn't tell if this was actually Gamora, and this is where she had gone. Or if this was simply Thanos' tricks with the Reality Stone. Like he needed her to tell him she was happy, but only the naive, young version of her would think he was right. She wouldn't have known the horrors of his ideas and deeds yet.

He watched Thanos look back up to her, his eyes almost glassy.

" _Everything."_

He had disappeared then, using the Space Stone to remove himself from this place. Loki felt his head spin then, "Great." He muttered, not this again.

"Hey!" He heard a small voice call.

His head shot up then, watching this young girl grab a piece of the architecture and hold it as a weapon.

He forced himself to bury the weight of the Space Stone. Thanos had left, but the child was still here. Was this Gamora?

"Hi," he offered. He got up then, but tried to stay low, at her eye level. He didn't want to startle her. He didn't want her to leave.

She threw the rock then, and much to his surprise, it hit him in the shoulder. He barely felt it, but she seemed to have a strong arm, even as a child.

"Stay back!" She yelled, grabbing a small blade, pressing the red jewel in the center, releasing both ends.

He realized he was still holding his dagger. He dropped it quickly, "No, I'm sorry. I won't hurt you." He felt desperate. He was never one for children, even when he was one. They were annoying and naive and blind to the hardships of the world, but maybe he could find his friend with the help of the child.

The girl tilted her head at him, but closed the knife she had. "Okay," she muttered, eyeing him skeptically.

"Where is your family?" He asked, tilting his head at her.

She shrugged before looking down into a pool, watching her reflection intently.

Loki walked forward then, making sure to be slow in approaching her.

"Do you need help finding your way?" He asked, looking into the pool she now seemed to be enchanted with.

He saw her reflection, and he had to bite back a gasp. It was Gamora, but the Gamora he had known. She was frantically looking around the pool, opening her mouth to speak several times, but no sound came out. He looked between the child standing beside him and his companion in the reflection. Her eyes caught Loki's, and he watched her look of panic settle a little bit.

She turned her body towards him then, crossing her arms. Her eyes were searching his, and he wasn't sure what to do.

He tilted his head at her, furrowing his eyebrows in concern. This child was definitely his Gamora, but how was he supposed to bring her back? She mirrored his expression before uncrossing her arms and tapping her temple lightly, then pointing to the child beside him.

The girl dropped a pebble in the pool, and the image of Gamora wrinkled and then disappeared altogether.

He looked at the child again. She was looking around. She looked confused, lost.

"I'm Loki," He tried again.

She looked at him, an uncertain expression on her face. "Gamora."

He nodded then, biting his lip to hold in a smile. He had found her, and she was alright. Sort of.

"Have you been here before?" He asked, looking around.

She followed his gaze as she rubbed her temples. "I don't know,"

He watched her rubbing her temples and suddenly had an idea. "Do you feel like the answers are in your head?"

She gave him a thoughtful look, running a hand over her braids, "I guess? I know I've been here, I just don't remember it."

He knelt down beside her, wanting to make her feel comfortable. "I can help you with that."

She looked intrigued, "How?"

He lifted his hand, opening his palm towards her. "I have this special ability, I can see people's memories."

Her eyes lit up, "Really?"

He nodded, mustering a reassuring smile, "Yeah." He reached towards her, "May I?"

She looked unsure, "Will it hurt?"

He shook his head quickly, "Course not. I said I wouldn't hurt you, Gamora."

She nodded, seeming to be less concerned. "Okay."

He opened his palm once more, placing his thumb on her forehead, resting his hand gently on her cheek. He noticed her skin was freckled and smooth, no modifications yet.

"Are you ready?" He asked, wanting to be sure she was comfortable with the idea.

She nodded, "Yeah."

* * *

" _I lost my mother."_

 _Loki watched the young Gamora fight off a guard that was dragging her from her family. Her mother tried to hide her. Once they had been discovered, a guard ripped her from her mother's grasp, dragging her towards the line of people waiting to die. She had struggled against his grip before stomping on his foot and running off. She bumped into the Mad Titan's leg._

" _What's your name?" Thanos knelt down then, still towering over the child._

" _Gamora," she looked up at him, an unsure look taking over her features._

 _He smirked at her, "You're quite the fighter, Gamora."_

 _She exposed a small smile before turning around once more, "My mother."_

 _He held out his hand to her, "Come with me."_

 _She wrapped her small hand around one of his fingers, allowing him to lead her to the opening of a run down temple._

 _Loki tried to follow them, but was separated and shoved into a line on one side of the clearing. He watched Thanos' children open fire on his side, closing his eyes._

* * *

He fell backwards, breathing heavily. The child looked startled at his reaction.

"Are you okay?"

He stared at her, running a hand through his hair as he managed his breathing. "Yeah, yeah."

"What did you see?" She asked, curiosity brimming in her eyes.

He looked around at his surroundings, "Actually," he murmured, examining the run down pieces of the temple they were standing in, "was this on your home world?"

She looked like he had, "Yeah, it's where I met my father."

"You mean Thanos?" He asked, tilting his head.

She nodded, "Yeah, adopted father."

"Well, I know what that's like."

Her eyes lit up, "You're adopted too?"

He smirked at her, resting his arm on his knee, "Yes, when I was younger than you."

She smiled at him, opening her mouth to speak, but shouts from behind them interrupted her.

Loki hopped to his feet and turned quickly. He drew a dagger, "Stay behind me."

She said nothing, but he heard the soft clinking of her knife activating behind him.

He would've smirked if their circumstances weren't so unfortunate. "Who's out there?" He called, attempting to conceal his dagger in case it was a potential ally.

"The god of betrayal and our own traitorous wench found each other in here," one voice cooed.

"How fitting," braked another.

"Why do I know them?" asked the child, stepping around Loki. He grabbed her wrist and moved her back behind him, "Stay here." He called, glancing back to her. Her eyes looked determined, fiery as she glared at him. Her expression screamed her need to assist him.

Yeah, he thought, this was definitely Gamora.

He walked out of the enclosure, looking back quickly to make sure she was still safe. "We're not your enemy." He said, not wanting to have to fight in front of the child.

"Oh, you chose the wrong side, _Asgardian_ ," a third voice quipped.

He rolled his eyes, "Again, not Asgardian. But regardless of sides, we're all dead here. So there's no point in quarrels anymore, is there?" He conjured a scone dagger in his other hand then, not convinced he could talk his way out of this one.

They walked closer, and he realized there were about five of them. It took him about three more seconds to realize who they were: the children of Thanos. The ones he'd made a deal with when he pledged his loyalty to Thanos and invaded Earth. He didn't know how, but they were definitely dead.

"So by the looks of this, he didn't have much regard for the lot of you anyways." He muttered, allowing himself to smirk at the irony of the situation.

"Do you really want to die for that child?" Maw called out, stepping in front of the four others. All children of Thanos. Like he had almost been; like Gamora had been.

He tilted his head, "Is the child what you want?" He asked, flipping the daggers in his hands.

"That's no child," Maw barked, "She's been treacherous since the beginning."

Loki looked back at her, she was squatting behind one of the ruined walls, only visible because he knew where she had been hiding. He looked back at them, considering his options. "You just want the child then?"

They all nodded, a sinister smile forming on their faces. It made his skin crawl, what would they do to her if they had their way?

Suddenly, he had an idea.

His sighed, raising his hand and motioning to his left, "Fine."

The child appeared then, much like he had conjured versions of himself many times before.

"Gamora, I'm so sorry." He dropped his head.

They all approached her, marching away from where Loki and the ruins had been standing. He dared not look back, not wanting to give the real Gamora away. He hoped she had the good sense to stay hidden. He began to back away as they became distracted by the child. He knew he only had moments at best to grab the real Gamora and run.

He back away, moving swiftly but slowly still, hoping not to draw attention to himself. Once they got to her, they'd know she wasn't real. They all seemed preoccupied approaching her, and he'd done his best to make her look convincingly frightened. Once they drew in on her, he spun on his heel and made a break for it.

He ran as fast as he ever had, and pushed through the sensation of his lungs burning once he'd heard them shout in realization that he had fooled them. He made it to the large sand dune between them and the ruins where Gamora was hidden.

"Gamora!" He shouted as he dropped to his side, sliding down the dune and into the ruins. She was where he'd asked her to be, crotched behind some old brick work. Her eyes were wide, her knife drawn. "What happened?" She asked, frantic.

"I pulled a little trick," He remarked, bending down slightly and scooping her up by her waist as he ran, not slowing his pace at all.

"Traitor!" He heard Maw shout behind him.

He pushed himself faster, repositioning her in his arms so he could move without the fear of dropping her. "Hold on." He commanded through his ragged breath as he dropped on his back, sliding down another dune. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her head buried into the crook of his neck.

He hopped up once more and kept running, beginning to notice the difference in terrain. The ground became rocky, the air cold. There were several holes in the ground that seemed to pop up out of nowhere, but the sky was still yellow and rust, indicating it was another piece of the stone's world they were confined to. They weren't leaving anytime soon and neither was Maw and the rest of the children of Thanos.

Loki tripped on a jagged rock sticking out of the ground, falling headfirst into a crader. He wrapped himself around Gamora once more, as he'd done on Titan. This time, he curled into a ball, his grip becoming ironclad on her. She wasn't leaving his side. Her screams clouded his ears, and he shut his eyes wondering if the fall would hurt all that much, since they technically couldn't die.

He landed harshly, but on a softer ground than he'd expected. He opened his eyes to see that Gamora was still with him, her small hands on his chest as if they had been pushing. He sat up slightly, tilting his head at the child, "Were you trying to resuscitate me?" He asked, mildly amused.

She sat back, startled that he'd awoken so suddenly, "It worked," she mumbled, rubbing the dirt off her robes. "Are you okay?" She asked after a second.

He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, but he opted out of telling her that, "Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

She nodded, but her eyes were swollen, tear stained.

He sat up on his knees, "What is it?"

She just looked away, biting her lip.

He leaned forward, one of his hands gently touching her face, having him look at her. "Are you hurt, Gamora?"

Her eyes watered more, but she nodded and pulled at the torn color of her robes, exposing a large cut from her collarbone down to the middle of her chest.

He winced for her then, holding back her torn clothing himself to get a better look. It looked pretty deep, he wondered if she was hit by anything during the fall. As he was examining her wound he realized something else: No modifications.

"Shit," he muttered, tearing what was left of his cape and pressing it to her gash.

"What?" She winced, squirming away from him.

"I'm sorry, but you need to hold this on there, alright?" He said, his eyes searching hers.

She put one of her hands over his, and the other on the bunched up cloth over her wound.

"Okay."

He gave her a small smile and pushed himself to his feet, finally taking in his surroundings. It looked like they were in a park of some sort. There was grass all around them, but a sidewalk with benches not too far to their right. He looked behind him and saw more open spaces, but there was the background of a massive, urban area. He realized then they were in New York City. He got a little bit nervous, wondering if there was anyone else here, like the original Avengers. Were they in this version of New York? They weren't exactly aware he'd switched sides, in a manner of speaking.

Her whimpers broke through his haze of nervous thoughts. He snapped his head down to her, noticing her green skin was growing pale.

"Gamora," He started, squatting down in front of her.

She looked as if she was working hard to keep her tears at bay. She said nothing, but she looked up at him.

"I'm going to find you some help, alright?" He posed it as a question, but he wasn't going to give her the option to refuse. He wrapped an arm around her, lifting her once again. She hugged his neck with one arm, the other holding his now almost blood soaked cape on her cut.

As he trudged along, he could start to smell the blood as it seeped through the cloth. He knew she had to be in pain, and he wanted to keep her distracted until he figured out where a hospital was. Maybe there were doctors in there that would help.

"Have you been to Earth before?" He asked, making that he held her in a way he figured she'd feel comfortable.

She shook her head, "No,"

He forced a laugh in hopes to distract her a little, "I have before."

"Oh,"

"Yeah. Didn't go so well the first time."

"Am I going to die here?" She asked, pulling her head from the crook of his neck and looking at him.

He turned to face her for a moment, shaking his head quickly, "Course not. Why would you think that?"  
"My dad says if I ever got hurt I'd need an operation. To fix me quicker." She sounded unsure, a little scared.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, wondering if she had remembered something. "What kind of operation?"

She shrugged, "I don't know."

He slowed his pace once they reached the sidewalk, letting her down on a bench. She perched there on her knees, surprised he'd stopped and put her down.

He sat down next to her, crossing one leg over the other and facing her as best he could. "Do you remember what I did earlier? To help you recall things about the place we were?"

She nodded.

"Did it help?" He pressed, wondering if he could figure out the point when she received her modifications. The last memory he looked into was her first meeting Thanos, it seemed to make her a little older, more knowledgeable of the situation.

She gave him a puzzled look, but nodded after a moment.

He let out a breath of relief. "Do you want me to try it again? To help you remember the operation? So we can fix you faster?"

She looked unsure, but winced at the growing pain from her wound. She nodded quickly, allowing him to place his thumb against her forehead, closing her eyes and focusing on that operation her father had referred to.

* * *

 _She was older, more resembling the woman Loki had met earlier on, but definitely still a teenager. On board his ship, strapped on an operating table. He noticed as he approached her that she was covered in bruises and cuts. It looked as if mud had dried in her hair, which was sticking to her forehead due to a mixture of fresh blood and sweat. She was breathing heavily, tears falling down her checks freely._

 _Thanos entered then, "Little one," his face was grim, disappointed._

 _She struggled against her binds, "Please, I didn't mean to fail you-"_

 _He put a hand up, pacifying her. "You tried to escape last night."_

 _She began to cough, spitting out a fair amount of blood. "My father. He's alive. I need to go back to my home-"_

 _Thanos slammed his hand on the operating table, causing her to jump, crying more. "He is NOT your father." His voice was loud, anger etched in his voice._

 _She whimpered under his booming voice._

 _He sighed then, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And now the Kree soldiers got to you." He ran his hand through her hair softly. "You're lucky Maw found you. If anyone else saw my Little One in this traitorous act, you wouldn't have survived the night."_

 _She was sobbing then, "I-I'm sorry."_

 _He shook his head, "Shh, no need for this." He looked at Loki then, motioning for someone behind him to come forward. "I have a doctor for you, Little One."_

 _It was a smaller man, his face was deeply scarred, his hair was green and his skin was a rust color. He ran forward, rolling a cart with dirty, metal tools on them. He was wrapped in a grey robe and surgical gloves. "Yes sir?" His voice seemed uncertain, nervous._

" _Modifications." Thanos grunted, nodding towards her bruises._

 _Gamora began to struggle against her binds, drawing more blood from her wounds. "No, no mods." She groaned in pain from the damage she had unintentionally caused herself in that moment._

" _Oh, little one," Thanos started as he stepped forward, pressing two fingers into a gash on her side and smirked as he heard her screams. "You need these modifications. You'll die without them." His voice was deadly serious, as if it was a promise, not an actual concern of his. He released his grip on her side, turning away from her._

 _He adjusted his helmet on his head, grabbing some throwing knives off the wall._

" _Sir," the doctor called, trekking across the metal floor._

 _Thanos stopped short, "What? You have what you need."_

 _The doctor rubbing the back of his head, glancing behind him at Gamora, essentially bleeding out on the table. "There's no sedatives."_

 _Thanos gave him a questioning look, "And?"_

" _She'll need to be under of the pain will be traumatic." The doctor tried, "It could kill her."_

 _Thanos looked back at Gamora, "Good. Maybe it'll teach her a lesson."_

 _He put in a code, opening the door, "I'll be back later."_

 _The doctor stuttered a little bit, "Where-where are you going?"_

 _He made sure he had swords attached to his armor, "Zen Whorebi. It seems I missed someone when I last purged that planet."_

 _The doctor walked back over to her, taking a deep breath as he picked up a blow torch. "I'm sorry, child." He said as he started it up, starring with a poorly stitched cut on her thigh._

 _Loki felt himself being pulled forward, stumbling for a moment as he was forced to follow Thanos out the door. He didn't want to, but he turned back when he heard her scream and howl in a way he'd never witnessed before._

* * *

He opened his eyes, noticing that at first, she was older now. Resembling the age she had been from the memory. She was also injured, much more than she was previously.

"Gamora?" He furrowed his brow.

Her breathing was hitched, as if a rib was broken. She was holding her side instead of her collarbone, blood seeping through her fingers.

"God damn it," He muttered, lifting her into his arms as he tried not to focus on her trembling. She was light as a feather to him, which was odd considering that him digging into her memory had physically aged her.

His pace began to pick up his pace when he felt some warm blood seep through her thin, black tank top, getting on his hands. He needed to find a hospital. Fast.

"Just hang in there, Gamora." He murmured, feeling her tremble even more.

Her body was going into shock. She had all the wounds from her memory, but no modifications.

He began to jog, seeing the road of the city and noticing how empty it was. He stepped out into the road, but bumped into some barrier. He didn't notice it at first. The barrier was transparent, but Gamora's cries as part of her bumped it made him realize something was blocking him.

The barrier began to form orange lines that seemed to spark before opening in the middle like a doorway. The same damn wizard, Dr. Strange, glided through the barrier as it parted, glaring at him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but the sight of Gamora bleeding out in Loki's arms pacified him.

Dr. Strange looked up at Loki, his face grim. "What happened?" He asked, looking back down at her, his eyes moving quickly, examining her wounds.

He let out a sigh of relief, "I need your help."


	5. Chapter 5

Strange wasted no time bringing them to the nearest hospital. Apparently he was an actual doctor on Terra. Or that's something she heard before she slipped into unconsciousness again.

She could sense the concern her new companion felt for her with every hitched breath she took. She knew that she knew him, but she had no idea how. He seemed very worried about her, and it confused her. She wanted to ask why he was fussing over her this way, but she didn't even have the energy to keep her eyes open.

"Stay with us, Gamora." She heard someone else murmur. She struggled to turn her head to see the source, a man who she now knew as Strange. He was in normal Terran clothes. A matching blue top and bottoms that looked crisp and clean, and he had a tight cap and mask covering his head and face. It reminded her of her father's doctors.

Her eyes widened and she tried to move her arms, beginning to panic, "No-" she started, spitting out some blood, "-no mods."

Her companion came back into view, gently taking her hair back and helping her sit up a little to spit up more blood.

He rubbed her back as she heaved and she began to feel the room spinning.

"Gamora." He held her face in his hands, trying to keep her eyes open. "No one is going to hurt you like that here. But we have to help you, alright?"

His words were desperate, but they made her feel grounded somehow.

He looked up at Strange, urgency etching it's way across his features. "He's gonna fix you right up Gamora, okay?" He said without looking away from Strange. It seemed like he was convincing everyone else in the room that she was going to be alright but her.

Dr. Strange tilted his head at him, his expression hidden behind the surgical mask. "What the Hell happened, Loki?"

He glanced back down to her, giving her hand a soft squeeze before releasing her. He approached Strange, putting a hand on his shoulder and leading him to a corner of the room where it would be hard for her to hear. Loki wasn't sure what she remembered about the last few days' events, and he didn't want to send her into a panic and risk her injuring herself further.

"After," he glanced back at her before continuing, "-after Thanos won, she faded away too. Like the rest of you. I found her in this place. Yellow sky like the one outside," he pointed out the window, referencing to the yellow and rust colored sky that had overtaken the city as well, "She was a child, talking to Thanos. He disappeared and she remained a child. His children ambushed us, and we ran. We ended up here, and she was injured. She needed help, and I searched her memories."

Strange ran his hands through his hair, taking a deep, irritated breath, "Right, okay. And then you threw her in a shredder? Because that's what it looks like," he hissed.

Loki shook his head, "No, but I saw Gamora, the one you met back on Titan, in her reflection. She told me the only way to help her was to get her to remember. The more I looked in her mind, the more she seemed to know. We needed to get out of there, and I found this memory," he took a deep breath, shuddering at his recollection of Thanos torturing her, "I found this memory before she got her modifications, where she tried to escape and the Kree ripped her apart," he pointed behind him. He sighed, "Me looking into those memories seemed to age her to the moment I was pulled from them."

Dr. Strange seemed overwhelmed by the story, but nodded after a moment, letting out a deep breath before looking over Loki's shoulder at her on the stretcher. "Okay, I can patch up some of the cuts, but without those modifications she's probably not gonna make it, and I'm not sure what happens if we die in the stone, but I doubt it's good." He looked back at Loki, feeling more like his old self, before his car accident, before he learned all he knew now.

Loki looked back at her, "I can try and get back into her memories, find a memory as close to the present as possible." His brow was furrowed, he looked genuinely worried, "But if that doesn't work, you have to help her, alright?"

Strange was taken aback, "I'll do what I can." He wasn't aware of the vastness of the universe when Loki had invaded New York years ago, but he'd heard plenty of stories about the Asgardian god that murdered hundreds and brought in an army to take over the Earth. From those stories, Strange never once took Loki as someone who had the capacity to care about anything other than himself. He honestly still wasn't sure if this was another trick or not, but he didn't want anything to happen to the girl if he was wrong about Loki. He was a doctor after all, he couldn't chance it.

Loki strode back over to her, taking her hand once more.

She was breathing heavily, sweat was forming all over her hairline, and she was trembling more than she had been. Much more. She flinched when he took her hand, afraid it was the Kree, Maw, or her father again.

He raised his other hand in defense, "I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to frighten you."

She seemed to relax a little bit, but her breath was still shaky and pained.

"Is he-" she coughed a little, blood forming around the corners of her mouth, "-he going to fix me?"

Loki nodded quickly, "Yes, he is," he furrowed his brow, gently wiping one of the stray tears rolling down her cheek away with his thumb, "But I need you to let me do something first."

She gave him a questioning look, but said nothing. Whether she wanted him to continue or if she was just in so much pain that she couldn't speak anymore, even Gamora herself wasn't sure.

"Before, you let me look into your mind, to help you remember things that could save our lives," he started, growing uneasy with the panicked look on her face developing once more, "I need to do that again. It might be able to heal you."

She shook her head frantically, "No, I don't want to remember," she cried as tears welled in her eyes.

"No, Gamora, there are times in your life far better than the one we're in now. You'll be healed, safe." He pressed, stroking matted hair gently.

"I'll have to see-" she was trembling again, "-see him again."

Loki nodded, "But I'll make it quick, alright? I promise."

"How can I trust you?" She shivered as her eyes narrowed and she tried to move her head away from his touch.

He pulled his hand back, giving a worried glance to his companion across the room, Strange. "Because I know your father too. And I know what he's like, and I'm gonna do everything I can to keep you safe, alright?"

His words were desperate, but they seemed to convince her a bit. After a moment of consideration, she nodded slowly.

He sighed deeply then, feeling uneasy about the impending invasion of her mind. He had to remind himself again that this was for her own good; it would be the only thing to save her life. The intensity of their environment had taken it's toll on her mind and body, and she herself had intercepted him perviously, making sure he understood that he needed to help this younger version of herself back to the present hells cape they were living.

But aside from all that, they hardly knew each other. Well didn't actually know each other at all. He shook his head quickly, there was no time to question himself. Any damage that this would cause, she could gladly report to him once she was safe again.

He looked up once more, across the room to Strange, who was watching him intently. He seemed as if he was as unsure about this whole thing as Loki himself was too. He placed his hand gently on her cheek, represssing the urge to pull back when she flinched at the contact. He needed to do this, and he needed to do it now. He avoided any open cuts or tender bruises on her cheek before resting his hand and placing his thumb on her forehead, closing his eyes when he saw the effects of his power causing her's to roll back, reaching memories Thanos' power had caused her to forget.

 _She was healthier now, but fresh stitches were visible in few spots of her body. The silver scars were seeming to settle within her skin. It was soon after the operation to implant her modifications. Her expression was hard, her eyes dark and merciless as she sparred against who he now knew to be her sister. They were much younger than they were when he saw them recently; her sister even had her original parts. Her arm wasn't yet detached, minimal modifications lined her body. Loki wondered if Gamora contributed to the need for a new arm, new eye, and the rest of it._

 _He flinched for the sister as he watched Gamora shoved her foot into her chest, knocking her harshly onto her back. The sister coughed loudly as if all the wind was knocked from her body, Her eyes widened as Gamora plunged a dagger down towards her, rolling out of the way quickly. She got to her knees before Gamora gripped her shoulder and shoved her back to the ground. The sister put her hands up over her face as Gamora knelt down, her hand gripping her sister's throat without a glimmer of familiarity in her eyes. The sister began to choke as she gripped Gamora's wrist, trying to weaken the steely grip to her throat._

 _Loki felt his hand instinctively go to his throat, remembering his gruesome death once more. Thanos had taught her well, he'd give them that._

 _Gamora raised a dagger, letting the blade rest on her sister's check gently before smirking, pulling it back quickly in preparation for a quick and seemingly easy kill._

 _"_ _I yield!" The sister screeched, seconds before the blade would've come in contact with her face._

 _Gamora's smirk molded into a triumphant, eerily unfeeling smile. She looked up above Loki's head across the large gym, proudly looking up at the window. He turned then as well, seeing Thanos smiling at her, clapping softly in her direction, clearly impressed with her abilities._

 _"_ _Bravo daughter." He called as he emerged onto the gym's floor, seconds later._

 _The sister rolled her eyes as she sat up, rubbing her shoulder with pain in her eyes._

 _Thanos chuckled at the sister's obvious need for some kind of medical attention, gripping her hurt shoulder in his massive hand, only laughing louder when the sister cried out._

 _Gamora turned her head towards the scene then, formerly occupying herself with sharpening her daggers. Her eyes looked conflicted, but she willed away the potential care for her sister that seemed to be seeping into her mind. "Next time, bring me someone to fight that's more of my equal."_

 _Thanos released the sister then, Gamora's arrogance removing his attention from his now even more injured daughter. He closed the distance quickly, drawing his hand back and striking Gamora harshly across the face. Gamora fell back and seemed to crumple into the ground like a paper doll, Loki flinched as if he felt the force of the Mad Titan's strike against himself._

 _"_ _Your arrogance is misplaced daughter." Thanos gripped her arm and yanked her to her feet before she could recover from his slap. "You may be strong, but past experiences have proven you are no where near the best."_

 _Gamora looked more frightened than discouraged, her body trembling slightly as she breathed heavily, staring meekly up at her father. "But don't you want me to be the best?" She countered in a small, uncertain voice._

 _He knelt down to meet her eyes, "Of course I do, Little One." He used a single finger to wipe a tear from her cheek, whether it was fear or the sharp string of his strike that caused her to cry softly, Loki wasn't sure. Thanos eyed the tear on his finger for several long, intense moments before drawing his hand back once more, punching his Little One in the chest. She crumbled once more, coughing like her sister had just done. "I didn't teach you this. To be weak! You embarrass me, daughter." He barked as he glanced back at the sister, "You both do," he spat. He motioned for some of his higher ranking children to grab the sister and remove her.  
"Maw, make Nebula the Little One's equal." He called as he winked at his favorite son. Maw used his power to drag Nebula from the arena. _

_Gamora watched from the floor where Thanos had left her as they dragged her sister out while she begged for help. Gamora took several deep breaths and clutched her chest as the gym doors shut, leaving her alone. She panted heavily, and as Loki took steps towards her, the scene dematerialized in front of him._

 _—_

 _He stumbled forward before he found himself in what seemed to be a common room. There was a small kitchen and a table with five chairs. To his right, there was a weapons crate that was covered with cassettes, a couple books, a coffee cup, and some high tech gun with wires sticking out, as if the gadget was unfinished._

 _A woodland creature in a utility vest stumbled in with an incredibly large man with red tattoos all over his body. They were laughing loudly, but kept trying to make each other quiet down, as if afraid to disturb the peace of the empty room._

 _The bigger man tripped over the couch in the middle of the room, knocking some old school music player onto the floor, nearly missing it with his foot as he toppled over. Loki sidestepped him fast, but felt the entire room shake from his fall. His head turned quickly as he heard footsteps down the hall._

 _"_ _Drax what the Hell?" It was the Ravager again. Only he was in sweat pants without a shirt, and he definitely looked more annoyed than how Loki had last seen him._

 _The small, Loki assumed rabbit, scampered over to Drax and helped him up, well pushed on his arm until he pulled himself up. "Quill relax!" The rabbit shouted, "It was just a bit of fun."_

 _The Ravager put a finger to his lips quickly, glancing back down the hall. "Everyone's asleep," he hissed._

 _The rabbit rolled his eyes, "They knew we were going out! What did they expect?" He stopped himself to burp._

 _The sight was almost comical to Loki, but his smirk evaporated the moment he looked back towards the Ravager. Gamora was standing beside him, in some earth music-themed t-shirt with her hands on her hips, glaring at the rabbit and the bigger man on the floor._

 _"_ _You two woke up Groot. We just got him to sleep, Rocket." Her voice was stern, but he saw a hint of amusement in her features._

 _The rabbit hopped up quickly, kicking the bigger man with his foot. "Get up, fatass," he barked before stalking down the hall past Gamora and the Ravager, "I'll handle him then! He likes me more anyways."_

 _Gamora rolled her eyes as the rabbit passed them, but he stopped short in the hall. "Oh, if you two wanna keep this 'unspoken thing,'" the rabbit used air quotes, "a secret, maybe Mora shouldn't be wearing Quill's favorite shirt to bed, huh?" Before the Ravager or Gamora could respond, the rabbit turned around and headed further down the hall._

 _The Ravager opened his mouth to speak, but Gamora quickly covered it with her hand, motioning back to their larger companion on the floor._

 _The Ravager gripped her wrist lightly and removed her hand. "Relax, he's totally passed out." He said loudly, proving his point. "Besides, I don't really want to keep this a secret."_

 _Gamora looked behind her, as if she didn't want anyone else to hear. "I understand that, Peter. But what will they think?"_

 _Peter tilted his head at her, "Probably not much, honestly. We've always been a little bit closer than everyone else. They might've assumed we were a thing long before this actually started," he added with a shrug._

 _She raised her eyebrows before walking over to their kitchen and pushing herself up to sit on the counter. "A thing?" She asked._

 _He followed her, as did Loki, intrigued to see her interact with this group._

 _"_ _An item, a pair." The Ravager stated as he waggled his eyebrows, but Gamora didn't look any less confused. "It's a Terran term for being together."_

 _Gamora tilted her head, biting her lips to suppress a smile, "Oh, we're together?"_

 _He smiled at her, raising his hands before moving to walk away, "Okay, okay. We're just friends then. Guess I can move all my stuff out of your bunk and stop making you coffee every morning-" he stumbled slightly as Gamora gripped his hand and yanked him back towards her._

 _"_ _No, no." She said, placing a hand on his cheek, "I like that. Together." She smiled as the words rolled off her tongue._

 _"_ _Oh yeah?" The Ravager asked with a smirk before allowing Gamora to pull him into a kiss._

 _Loki looked away, feeling intrusive here. As he blinked, the scene began to go dark again._

 _He felt a softer ground form beneath his feet, and he looked up to find himself in a bedroom._

 _Gamora was in front of him, looking as if she was working out. She was doing a handstand over a mat on the floor, her legs were spread into a split in the air, and she was listening intently as the Ravager rambled from the bathroom across the room._

 _"_ _I just think it's weird is all," He muttered as he walked back into the bedroom wrapped in a towel, smirking once he saw her. "Girl, you make me wonder why I even leave our room," He joked with a low whistle._

 _Gamora chuckled at him before bringing her feet to the floor, laying on her back and pushing herself up into a bridge. "If you're that nervous, we should aim to make a stop there in the next few days," She stated, still seemingly more focused in her exercise._

 _He grabbed some clothing off their bed and began to get dressed._

 _Loki adverted his eyes, feeling uncomfortable and intrusive once more. He'd have to apologize once he was out of her mind, but he needed to find the most recent memory, so she'd be alright and still know what had happened._

 _"_ _If something had happened, I'm sure they'd call us though," he said as he pulled a sweater over his head._

 _Gamora lowered herself to the floor before sitting up on her mat, eyeing him with concern. "Are you really worried about Xandar?" She asked._

 _He nodded, "We usually hear something from Dey every once in awhile. It's been weirdly long, but maybe I'm just paranoid." He wondered as he sat down on the bed, lacing up his boots._

 _Gamora stood up and walked over to him. She sat down on the floor in front of him, tying his other boot for him. "You've got good instincts though. We should put in a call today, and if we don't hear back, we should head there tomorrow. Groot needs something else to occupy his time anyways."_

 _He ran a hand down her cheek, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. He looked happy, as did she._

 _As she pushed herself from the floor to stand, the ravager wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into their bed, flipping over fast so he rested comfortably on top of her._

 _She released a startled laugh as he rested his body between her legs. She raised a hand to cup his face, poking his nose with her index finger._

 _He chuckled at her and ran his thumb across her check, tucking some hair behind her ear._

 _"_ _What?" She asked after a moment of comfortable silence._

 _He raised and lowered one shoulder, tracing one of the scars across her cheekbone with his finger. "I dunno," he started with a shrug._

 _She tilted her head at him, pushing herself up into a sitting position and narrowing her eyes at him. "What is it?" She pressed._

 _He backed up then, raising his hands in defeat and pushing himself off their bed. "Fine, fine."_

 _He muttered, "I was gonna wait until after we responded to that distress call in a couple hours."_

 _Loki flinched at his words. Distress call. This was the day._

 _Gamora sat up further as the ravager reached into a drawer next to their bed, pulling out a small velvet box._

 _"_ _I know we've discussed this before," the ravager started as he swallowed hard, fidgeting with the box in his hand, "On Earth, we have this tradition."_

 _She tilted her head once more, intrigued by his sudden nervousness. "Yes?" She pressed._

 _The ravager dropped his head, taking a deep breath before looking back up at her. Loki noticed tears were welling in his eyes. "My mom told me about it actually." He shifted his position on the floor as he grabbed her hand, lowering himself onto one knee._

 _Gamora squeezed his hand, tears forming in her eyes too._

 _"_ _When you love a girl, she'd tell me," he continued, raising the small box back into view. "You get down on one knee, pull out this ring, and tell her there is no one else on Earth you'd rather spend the rest of your life with." His voice shuddered towards the end, but he opened the box to reveal a small golden ring with an opal in the center._

 _"_ _Gamora, everyday I ask myself how I got so lucky. And my mom was right, but there's no one else in the universe I'd rather spend the rest of my life with." He took another deep breath, "Will you marry me?"_

 _Gamora took the box in her hands, tears freely flowing now. She made a sound that was a half laugh half sob before taking the ravager's face in her hands and kissing him deeply._

 _"_ _Wait, wait." He pulled back, laughing at her as his tears fell as well. "Is that a yes?"_

 _Gamora pulled back quickly, nodding and laughing as he pushed the ring on her finger. "Definitely a yes," she said softly, resting her forehead against his._

 _The ravager jumped up then, lifting her up and spinning her around as he laughed._

 _"_ _Holy shit that was the scariest thing I've ever had to do." He exclaimed before kissing her deeply._

 _A sudden knock at the door broke them from their happy bubble._

 _"_ _Guys! We're closer to the distress single than I thought!" A voice that sounds like the rabbit's shouted through their metal door._

 _Before Peter or Gamora responded, the ship dematerialized and he felt himself in quick free fall._

 _He landed hard on him side in something cold. He blinked a bunch of times before he realized where he was. Vormir._

 _He pushed himself into a sitting position quickly and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a loud and sudden crack a few yards to his left._

 _Then he saw it._

 _Her crumpled body. The blood seeping into the snow and her hair around her, spreading and spreading._

 _He jumped up and covered the distance between them quickly. "Gamora!" He shouted, skidding to a stop at the horrific realization that the fall hadn't killed her. Not yet._

 _She was choking and coughing, green blood coming out of her mouth as she did so. She was flat on her fact, her limbs in every which way. She looked unnatural, twisted and broken._

 _Loki swallowed hard as he noticed the small golden band on her ring finger._

 _He looked up quickly, seeing the outline of Thanos from far above. Loki wanted to shout. He wanted to go up there and shove a dagger through his throat._

 _He thought the way he met his end was horrific, all he could do was watch from the shadows as Gamora choked on her own blood, the last thing she'd ever see alive was her killer._

 _Loki wouldn't wish that on anyone._

 _He felt light envelope him as he was lifted into the sky, watching helplessly as the light drained from Gamora's eyes below._

 _He landed harshly on Titan, jumping up quickly but still stumbling. Her mind seemed to be flooding with memories, throwing him every which way. Even with his experience in people's heads, it was very disorienting._

 _Spots began to form and dissipate in his vision, leaving him to see himself, from what felt like years ago now, holding onto an unconscious Gamora as her family dissolved around them._

 _He knew this moment, and cursed himself for what was about to happen._

 _The ground dissolved once more, sending him back to where he started._

He felt as if he was being launched backward, landing on his back in the middle of the medical room the wizard had brought them to.

Strange didn't even look to see if he was alright, he rushed forward to assist the now-conscious Gamora, who had shot up from her weakened position as Loki had been flung across the room.

She was the woman he had met now. She looked disoriented and on edge, but she was back. He couldn't help but smile, he had saved his companion.

She searched Strange's eyes as he asked her basic questions, but resisted as he tried to put his fingers on her neck to read her pulse. She gripped his wrist tightly, Loki was afraid she'd break his arm.

He pushed himself up, jogging back towards the scene. "Gamora, he's a doctor." He quickly explained, hoping to ease some of the tension.

She looked at Loki and back to Strange narrowing her eyes before releasing him from her grip. "I remember you," she said to Strange as he rubbed his already swelling wrist. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

Strange nodded, "It's fine. How are you feeling?"

She met Loki's eyes then, "Like we lost." Her tone was emotionless, but he saw the defeat set into her features.

Loki shook his head, "Not yet."


	6. Chapter 6

Gamora refused Dr. Strange or Loki's help as she pushed herself off the hospital bed. Admittedly, she still felt utterly drained. She remembered seeing the effects of the Space Stone on Loki recently, and she definitely understands that feeling now. After a few moments, she pushed herself back on the bed, letting her legs hang off the side. The dizziness took over sooner than she expected.

It's strange, but she almost feels as if she is carrying the weight of the Soul Stone.

And everyone within it.

Strange's words pulled her from her thoughts. "So are we in the Soul Stone now?" He asked, eyeing the two of them thoughtfully.

Loki returned to the room then, handing Gamora a bottle of water. She hesitated before taking it from him, her eyebrow raised.

Loki rolled his eyes as we sat down next to her on a stool, "Vending machine." He turned his attention back to Strange, "I think so."

They both looked to Gamora expectingly.

She'd never tell Loki, but the water felt divine. She couldn't remember the last time she had had anything to drink. For one, she was sorta dead, so she didn't think she'd need water so much anymore, but death hasn't been quite what she has expected thus far.

She put the water bottle down next to her on a small metal table that held bloody medical instruments. No doubt tools Strange used on her while she was bleeding out an hour or so ago. She had to rip her eyes from the sight, finally realizing that they were waiting for her to acknowledge them for some reason.

"What?" She questioned, not enjoying the way they seemed to be analyzing her movements.

"How do you feel?" Loki asked.

She wouldn't meet his eyes. She knew that he had seen things in her past that she wouldn't have willingly shared. At the time, she also wasn't aware of what he could access.

She does however look to Strange, who also seemed interested in the answer to Loki's question.

"Better," she glances at Loki, "Thank you."

He gives her a simple nod before changing the subject. "I still think we're in the Soul Stone."

Strange seemed to agree, "Everything just feels a little bit off. Like this is New York, but-" he motioned out the window across the room to the rust colored sky, "different."

Gamora nodded, "I feel it too."

"How so?" Loki asked, placing a hand on her forearm, looking to provide her some support.

Gamora rolled her eyes and yanked her hand away, growing annoyed with the way he seemed to constantly want to look after her.

She looked back at Strange, "I don't know, just like I've been here before. I've never been to Terra, but, I feel like I've been living around here for years." She tried her luck at standing then, blinking rapidly as black dots began to invade her vision.

Strange and Loki rushed toward her. Loki grabbed her forearms to steady her, helping her sit back down on the surgical table. Strange shined a small light in her eyes.

She shook her head violently, irritated with Loki's hovering and avoiding the bright light in her eyes. "What even is the point of that?"

Strange smirked at her, "Just making sure you don't have any lasting trauma in your brain."

"Sounds serious," Loki muttered, eyeing Gamora worriedly.

Gamora shook her head, annoyance getting the best of her. "I honestly think that I am fine, but I did just age twenty years in fifteen minutes so maybe I'm a little unsteady on my feet, but I promise that I don't think I'm going to drop dead soon." Her voice was raspier than she had wanted, but the confidence was all there. In actuality, Gamora didn't quite believe she was perfectly healthy, but she was tired of her two new companions fussing over her so much.

Loki seemed to have taken the hint and backed up from her significantly. She noted he still was within arms' reach, but she'd take what she could get at this point.

Strange wasn't as easy to convince. Gamora chalked it up to the fact that he had actually been a medical doctor. He had taken a step back or two, but was definitely closer than Loki with his small flashlight in hand.

She raised her hands to the both of them before they could say anything else, "I wouldn't lie about this. I am fine, but the longer we're here the more I feel just so," she snapped her fingers a couple of times, finally meeting Loki's concerned stare. "Like you did, back on Titan."

He nodded, "Like a used up battery."

She nodded back to him, "Yeah, yeah. But like I can feel every little bit of how the stone is being used."

Strange raised his eyebrows, "So, if the rest of us are here, you can basically feel half the universe?"

Gamora raised and lowered on shoulder, "I just feel a lot of movement."

Strange nodded but said nothing else.

After several long moments of silence, it was Loki that spoke up.

"Drink," he said, handing her another bottle of water.

This time she didn't refuse him or hesitate. There wasn't any point in arguing that she didn't need it. None that would result in her winning anyways. Not against a real Terran doctor and an actual God.

As she drank, Loki stood up, clapping his hands and beginning to pace. "If the three of us are here, it's safe to say at least the rest of your team on Titan is here as well."

Strange crossed his arms, leaning against the surgical table. "I think so as well."

Gamora dropped the bottle of water then, the remaining contents spilling all over the floor. "Shit, sorry." she muttered, not even looking down. She hadn't even thought about what it meant for her family because Strange was around. She needed to find them. Find Peter.

Loki waved a hand to her, as if to say no big deal. He snapped his fingers and the water and bottle disappeared instantly.

Gamora would've been impressed, if she wasn't so distracted. "Do you guys think everyone from Titan is in this cityscape?"

Strange shrugged, "I think you'd be able to tell better than us."

Loki nodded in turn, looking to Gamora expectantly.

She shrugged. "Was the child from New York as well?"

Strange raised an eyebrow, "You mean Peter? Queens or Brooklyn, I think."

Gamora visibly stiffened at the mention of the name Peter. Loki raised an eyebrow but didn't question it. Perhaps that's what the Ravager's name was. She was probably wondering where the Ravager was.

"Maybe, when everyone died, they went to the places they felt most comfortable?" Loki suggested, hoping to take the scared look in Gamora's eyes away.

"That's not exactly what happened to us though," Gamora muttered, a sense of anxiety growing in her chest as she thought of Peter reliving his death over and over again.

"But, it happened to you," Loki pointed to Strange, "right?" Even if Strange was miserable here, Loki was hoping he'd lie anyways, just to keep Gamora calm.

Strange nodded, "I woke up in here."

Gamora raised an eyebrow, resting her forearms on her knees as she leaned forward, trying to assess whether or not Strange seemed happy about that fact.

When she couldn't read his expression, she cleared her throat, "And is that a good thing?"

Strange turned to face her head on, "Yes. Before all this happened, I was a surgeon. I loved every moment of it." She noticed a flicker of nostalgia across his features, but it disappeared quickly.

Gamora nodded, feeling some anxiety evaporate at the idea that her family might have gone somewhere where they felt peace. Peter might be somewhere he finds peaceful.

"So, do you think the child would also be somewhere in this city?" Loki asked, ripping Gamora from her thoughts of Peter and the rest of her family. He continued, "I'm not sure if we'll be able to get out of here, but it might be best if we all stick together while we're stuck here. In case anyone else that isn't so friendly shows up."

Strange rubbed his chin thoughtfully, surprised at Loki's willingness to work with all the Avengers. Honestly, within the last few times he's had to interact with the God of Mischief, he's been genuinely surprised by how he's become such an ally. Whether it was a hatred for Thanos or being trapped in death for so long with Gamora, Strange wasn't sure. "That makes sense. I'm not sure if where he's from would be his happy place."

"Could you run down to Kings-" Gamora started.

"Queens?" Strange interjected.

She rolled her eyes, "Wherever it is, could you go down there and see if you can find the child?"

Strange nodded after a few moments, "I can. Where will the two of you be?"

Gamora looked up across the room to see Loki, he was looking down at the surgical table where Strange had left some Terran medical tools he used on her. He seemed to be transfixed on the tools, and Gamora remembered how much blood had been on them before. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to think of how she would even be able to find her family.

"I have a few ideas," she muttered, taking a deep breath and pushing herself up. Thankfully, this time, she didn't stumble and the dizziness, while still there, seemed to have settled into something she could at least manage.

"We can meet back here?" Gamora suggested, though she wasn't sure how exactly they got here.

Strange nodded, "I can probably find you with my magic, but just in case, where are you specifically planning to look?"

"Well first, the Milano."

Strange raised an eyebrow, "The what?"

She rolled her eyes, realizing Peter mentioned he named their ship after a Terran actress. "It's our ship."

Strange's eyes widened in realization, "Oh, yeah. You're uh," he rubbed the back of his neck, "you're with Starlord."

Gamora nodded, "With all of them." She ran a band through her hair, growing uncomfortable. "And if that doesn't work, Missouri. Or the Missouri equivalent in this place."

Loki's attention was drawn back to the conversation at that, "Why the Hell are we going to Missouri?"

Gamora decided she was done discussing their next moves, and wanted to find her family. With or without her new companions. She nodded a thanks to Strange before walking over to the door, patting Loki's chest as she passed him. "You can always stay with him if you want," she muttered before walking out the door, not looking back to see if Loki had followed her.

"We'll meet back here," called over his shoulder to Strange, jogging to catch up with Gamora.

* * *

When they made it back out onto the street, Gamora stopped and looked around, growing frustrated. She ran a hand through her hair, wondering how they'd even be able to find Peter and her family. They just happened to find Strange. She didn't know anything about Terra, or the Terra-duplicate in the Soul Stone.

She almost forgot about Loki, and when he tapped her shoulder she turned around quickly, knife drawn from a holster on her leg. She pinned him against the building beside them and held it to his throat before he raised his hands in defense. "Hey! It's me." He shouted, raising his hands and pushing her away.

"Oh," she muttered, stumbling a couple steps back. "Sorry."

He raised his hands defensively, "I shouldn't have startled you."

She didn't like how he seemed overly worried about her still, but was too preoccupied at the prospect of finding Peter to really be bothered.

She started walking again almost instantly, glancing in different directions, trying to figure out if there was something around that would indicate how to get out of this city.

Loki kept up with her pace easily, not really attempting to make any conversation for the first few minutes. He recognized she needed her space, and if he was being honest, he was being honest with himself, the prospect of possibly seeing Thor again was blinding him to his surroundings.

Had his brother survived Thanos? Did he survive the snap? Gamora had mentioned that Thor had survived the wreckage where he had died, maybe he was somewhere in the Stone with her family.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost tripped over Gamora, who had since stopped walking and was sitting on the curb. The city was eerily quiet, but Loki put that out of his mind as he sat down beside her, unsure of why she had stopped in the first place.

"What is it?" He asked after another moment of silence as he watched her rest her head in her hands.

She shook her head, not looking up. Her whole body felt tense. She forced her elbows to dig into her thighs while her fingers supported her head in her hands. The dull pain seemed to ground her in this new reality.

Loki chanced it a second time, reaching out and resting a hand on her shoulder. Her body tensed, but she didn't make any moves to react or move away from him. "Gamora?"

She lifted her head, knotting her fingers and resting her chin on her hands, looking across the street at their reflection in some windows. "I'm supposed to be connected to the stone. This place." She muttered, growing angry with herself for not being able to sense her family.

Loki nodded, "That would explain why I grow weaker at the use of the Space Stone, and you with this one."

She looked over at him then, working hard to get her features expressionless, but her feelings definitely leaked into her voice, now raspy with desperation. "Why can't I feel them then?"

Loki let go of her shoulder, shrugging then. "So many people were killed in the same moment, most of them were sent somewhere within here, I imagine." He looked at the ground then, suddenly becoming fascinated with the cracked pavement they were sitting on. "And you've been through a lot since we arrived to this place."

Gamora looked back across the street, not sure how to address all that he had been able to see while within her mind. "Thank you," she started, uncertain of how to proceed. "You didn't have to," she took a breath, "-do what you did back there."

Loki raised a hand, "We made a deal. We have to watch out for eachother in here."

Gamora nodded, grateful he didn't seem to care for a long expression of gratitude. She went back to focusing on the way this place feels. She definitely feels connected, but so much energy is passing through the stone, through her, that it's hard to pinpoint if any of the movement is familar, if she should follow any particular patterns through the Stone to her family.

"Did they know?" Loki asked, breaking the silence. His question pulled her from her thoughts, throwing her off balance.

"That I'm the daugther of Thanos? Yeah." She huffed, a dry laugh escaping her lips, despite the circumstances.

He shook his head, "No, not that."

She looked at him then, raising an eyebrow, "Then what are you talking about?"

He nodded toward her left hand, "That you're going to marry the Ravager."

She blinked at his question, thrown off by his curiosity. After a couple seconds, she recovered from the surprise and decided she'd be honest. No point in deflecting now, after he'd been inside her mind. "The Ravager's name is Peter. And no, they don't know. We were going to tell them after we rescued the survivors on the Asgardian ship." Her voice trailed off then, realizing that was the place Loki had died.

"The ship I died on," he muttered, as if reading her mind.

She nodded, suddenly feeling guilty. She knew that Thanos would've laid waste to the ship whether or not Gamora and the rest of the guardians were there at the time. But the more time she spends trapped here with Loki, the more she wishes she could've done something to prevent his death. She didn't exactly know how to put that into words, so she settled with, "Yeah."

She absentmindedly went to grab the ring Peter had put on her finger just hours before all this started, her stomach dropping once she realized it was gone. "Fuck," she muttered, trying to pinpoint a place where she would've lost it.

Loki looked over at her then, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

She raised her finger quickly, "Not that it matters now, but I must've lost the ring sometime after," she stopped herself, not wanting to relive her death any longer.

Loki nodded, remembering he saw it on her finger when she was thrown from the cliff at Vormir. He took a deep breath, raising his hand beside his head in the air. His palm was up towards the sky, empty as he shut his eyes for a moment, concentrating on what he remembered about the ring the Ravager had given her. The small, velvet box appeared in his hand after a moment. Without looking at her, he placed it on the ground between them.

She looked down, eyes widening. "Is that?"

"Yeah."

She lifted the box, not opening it just yet. "You saw him propose."

He nodded, "Yeah." He ran a hand through his hair, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude on your memories. I was just trying to restore your mind to the present."

She was still looking down at the ring box, her eyes locked on it. "It's okay," she breathed.

"Alright," he mumbled sheepishly, looking back down at the pavement, unsure of what else to say.

Being around Gamora reminded him of all the things about being raised Asgardian that he enjoyed. His mother, his brother, his friends. She seemed to have each of his loved one's best qualities, but she also reminded him of himself at times. She was tough, but seemed incredibly reliable for her family, and recently, for him. She had risked her life on more than one occasion for his while she watched as her family lost the fight against Thanos on Titan. Even as a child, she tried to revive him after they landed in New York. Maybe Thor had turned him soft, but he'd never felt such an urge to do right by a companion before meeting her.

After another quiet moment, she opened the box and looked at her engagement ring. It looked exactly like the one Peter gave her. "Is this real?" She asked.

He raised and lowered one shoulder. "I just tried to recreate it the best I could."

She nodded, shutting the box and placing it in a pocket on her belt. She looked over at him then, placing a hand on his forearm and squeezing softly. "Thank you," she said with a small, grateful smile.

He couldn't help but stare at the ring box on her belt in that moment. "Sure," he muttered, standing up quickly after a couple seconds. "We should try and get back. Maybe we can navigate better from where we found each other, before we ended up in this city."

She nodded, pushing herself up after him.

They walked down the empty street in silence.


	7. Chapter 7

"Are you going to explain exactly how sitting in the grass like a child will lead us to your family?" Loki asked, crossing one leg over his knee and stretching, letting his arms drape over the back of the park bench he'd been sitting on.

Gamora was several feet away. She was seated in the grass where they had landed hours before. She had her legs tucked beneath her, massaging her temples with her fingers. "No," she muttered, not opening her eyes or looking to have lost any concentration.

He nodded quickly, looking up to the skyline until his eyes found Stark's tower. His mind rushed back to fighting with Thor on the roof of the building. He ran a hand over his face, trying to rub away the memory of yet another way he disappointed his family, his brother. As if Thor was even still alive.

" _I assure you brother, the sun shall rise on us again."_

His words rang in his mind over and over again. He wanted to prove to himself that the last words he spoke to his brother weren't going to be another lie. Another disappointment.

The flickering in the sky snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked around, noticing the yellow clouds blending into an orange color, then twisting together as if a tornado was beginning to form. The clouds would turn dark red, almost black, before dissipating back to its original yellow again.

He looked down again to Gamora, and he had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing clearly. She had her palms resting on her knees and she was somehow sitting as she was, but one foot off the ground. Her eyes were shut, but he could see her pupils moving beneath her eyelids. Some sweat was forming in her hairline. He jumped up then, closing the distance between them quickly, but he stopped himself before reaching her.

The wind picked up quickly, he stumbled a bit as leaves and grass flew around them, missing Gamora by a noticeable distance each time they seemed to be getting close. Before he could move, a branch caught one of his legs and he fell over with an annoyed grunt. Gamora's eyes flew open and she dropped back onto the ground instantly. The wind stopped and the skies returned to its original, yellow and orange colors.

Loki pushed himself up, but slowly. He was breathing a little heavier, unsure of what to make of what just happened. "Gamora?" He asked after he brushed his hair back behind his ears, removing some grass from his black tangles.

She let him pull her to her feet, tilting her head at him when he faltered a little bit and she almost fell back to the ground.

Loki took a step back, "How'd you do that?"

Gamora looked around her, seeing some debris and branches scattered across the grass around them. She raised and lowered one shoulder, unsure of how to answer.

" _A soul for a soul."_ She heard behind her, she snapped her head to the side, narrowing her eyes in the direction of his voice.

"Gamora?" Loki touched her shoulder.

She turned quickly, gripping his wrist in her fingers. Her eyes widened as his skin began to turn a pale blue shade, spreading up his arm.

Before he could stop her, she felt her vision shift and the scenery around her change drastically.

* * *

 _She landed haphazardly on some stairs, stumbling a moment before looking below her at the commotion._

" _So I am a stolen relic, locked up here until you have use of me?" a younger Loki barked, tears welling in his wide eyes. He was looking up at a much older man, adorned in a large crown and golden and white robes._

 _Gamora tilted her head at the scene. How did she get here?_

" _Why do you twist my words?" The older man asked, sounding shaky in his tone._

" _You could have told me what I was from the beginning. Why didn't you?" Loki's words were pained._

 _Gamora didn't understand why or how she got here. What's happening, she thought to herself._

 _Before the older man could answer Loki's desperate question, Loki looked above him and locked eyes with Gamora._

" _What are you doing here?" He barked, narrowing his eyes at her._

 _She felt a lump rise in her throat. "I don't-"_

 _She started before he drew a dagger out of thin air and launched it at her. She dodged it, but slipped and began to fall backwards._

* * *

She landed on her side in the grass, her hair blocking her eyes from finding Loki at first. She took several deep breaths, feeling as if she was choking on air.

Loki was breathing heavily additionally, not understanding how she would've been able to do that. When he saw her push herself feebly into a sitting position, he noticed she was still breathing heavily and unevenly.

He remembered the first time he stumbled into someone else's mind. He was eight years old when he accidentally grabbed onto Thor's arm and wound up reliving the time Odin scowled him for sneaking out to watch the Bifrost. He remembered being confused and frightened until Freya comforted him. She took his wrists in her hands, feeling his palms before sighing happily and telling him that he was like Thor and Odin now, developing his own God-like powers.

"Hey, hey." He squatted down in front of her, "Breathe." He had to push down a bitter feeling rising in his throat at the familiarity of this situation. It reminded him of his mother.

He went to push some of her hair out of her face, but hesitated for a moment. He didn't want her accidentally entering his memories again.

"What the Hell was that?" She coughed, running both her hands through her hair.

He looked back to his wrist and was relieved to see his skin had returned to its normal color. He decided to chance it, reaching forward and grabbing her wrists. He lightly pulled her hands away from her face and looked them over. They looked normal at first, but he ran two fingers over her palm and he felt it.

She must've noticed him tense upon grazing her palms because she sat up straighter, "What is it?" She asked frantically.

Loki was still staring at her, mouth slightly agape as he searched his mind for the right answer. "Uh," he started, "I don't know. You just feel different."

She raised an eyebrow, but her face still looked unsettled by these newfound abilities.

He locked eyes with her after forcing himself to look away from her hand, "I just can sense much more power. You had strength before, but now it seems like you're drawing a great deal more from something."

" _A soul for a soul."_

Gamora looked up quickly, finally seeing the guardian of the Soul Stone from Vormir. He was standing over them, and he reached down and touched her forehead with a single finger.

"Gamora? Gamora!" Loki called as he watched her eyes roll back and she collapsed. He looked around quickly, seeing nothing.

* * *

 _Gamora shot up quickly, looking around to find herself back in the cave where she and Thanos had discovered the Stone's guardian days ago. He was standing, well mostly floating, in the corner of the cave, near the exit that lead to the cliff she was tossed from, watching her intently._

 _She felt her body tense up, preparing for a fight._

" _I'm not your enemy. Fighting me will gain you nothing here." He stated simply, as if reading her mind._

 _She pushed herself up quickly, not drawing a weapon but still remaining in a battle ready stance. "Where is he?" She barked._

 _The guardian looked her up and down, as if he was studying everything about her. "Your companion? The God of Mischief?" He asked, his voice void of any emotion._

 _He casted a hand out, displaying a hazy view of the park she had been in with Loki only seconds ago. He was holding her torso in his lap, her face in his hands as he shook lightly, calling her name._

 _Gamora attempted to run towards the window-esque view of Loki before the guardian evaporated the view. "You can return to the God of Mischief anytime you'd like, but I hope you will consider hearing me first."_

 _Gamora eyed him angrily, but something inside herself told her not to leave just yet. "Hear you?" She asked, narrowing her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest._

 _He nodded, "When your father sacrificed you for the Soul Stone, your soul was preserved inside of it. It is where you are now." His tone, again, emotionless._

 _Gamora rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I've since gathered."_

 _His expression seemed to harden as he moved towards her, "A soul for a soul."_

" _You keep saying that, and I understand. I was sacrificed so Thanos could get the stone." She kept her voice even, but she hated that she was the only reason her adopted father was able to destroy half the universe._

" _Do not blame yourself. You cannot help who he loved," He stated. Again, as if he could read her mind._

 _She rolled her eyes, "How the Hell are you doing that?"_

" _I am connected to the Stone, as are you." He stated simply._

" _What does that even mean?" She was getting exasperated. She's beginning to overwhelmed and stir crazy within the Stone. Before he could answer, she spoke again. "I feel like I'm in some kind of ocean. Waves keep pushing and pulling me around and I do not understand how anything in this goddamn world works." She didn't like that her anger was beginning to boil over, but she was essentially dead, so what did it matter to her now?_

 _He tilted his head at her, removing his hood finally. "The Stone demands a sacrifice." He slowly lowered himself so his feet were on the ground. He still towered over Gamora, but he approached her on foot. "It understands that this power isn't to be given lightly."_

" _The hardest choices require the strongest wills," she almost spat out, as if her father's words put a bad taste in her mouth._

" _This is true, but the power isn't given entirely to the one who wields the Stone." His voice was even, but it gave her a weird sense of clarity._

" _So, the wind and the sky changing. Seeing inside Loki's mind-" she started, but he cut her off._

" _All of these things come with the Stone, but not for the one who can possess it." He explained._

" _Why?" She asked, still not understanding._

" _The one who possesses all the Infinity Stones can lay waste to galaxies without much consequence. Unlike the others, the Soul Stone takes in most of the damage. Someone is needed to protect the ones taken at the hands of he who wields the Stones. The guardian of this realm. The Soul Stone."_

 _She took a step back, not even attempting to mask her amazement. "So the Soul Stone doesn't allocate power to Thanos?"_

 _He shook his head, "It just absorbs the damage done. The gifts that come with the Stone are given to the one that is sacrificed. Only those sacrificed are truly worthy to protect the souls tucked away in here."_

 _Gamora nodded, "So I will be able to find anyone in here?"_

 _This time, he nodded. "The guardian within this realm can see all things living and dead."_

 _She thought back to her new companion. "How did Loki get here? If he died before I did."_

" _That was the first use of your power. The God of Mischief died attempting to protect those he loved, as did you from what I can see."_

 _Gamora nodded, thinking of Thor, of Nebula._

" _At your last moments, you thought for someone who could understand you. And in a sea full of death, the Stone gave you the God of Mischief." He explained._

 _Gamora nodded, recalling her desire to face someone else besides Thanos in death._

" _How can I find Peter?" She asked, not bothering to conceal her emotions any longer. Her voice dripped with desperation, but she didn't care anymore._

 _This time, he did not answer her question. "You are the guardian here now. I cannot be of use for only personal gains in this realm."_

 _Gamora frowned as he began to step out of the cave. "But wait," she called, picking up speed to catch up to him. She ran out towards the top of the cliff face once more, not understanding where he could've gone. "How do I find my family?" She yelled as she ran, skidding to a stop at the edge._

 _She signed, unsure of how to get back. She thought about it for several moments, shutting her eyes and focusing on getting back._

* * *

She was expecting to jolt awake, but she didn't even feel like she had moved. She opened her eyes then, slowly. She blinked a lot, noticing she was back in the dark sand dunes of Vormir. Just on the ground, miles from the mountain.

She looked around quickly, not seeing anyone at first.

"Fuck," she muttered, tucking her hair behind her ear before sitting down on top of a sand dune, looking down into the water. Much to her frustration, she only saw herself.

" _Focus,"_ she heard from behind her. She turned on her heel, sighing once she found no one. She balled up her fists and looked out at the great wasteland she was set to guard. Was this her reality now? Would she ever find Peter? Her family? How would she even get back to Loki? She felt her nails digging into her palms and she didn't stop until she felt warm blood dripping through her fingers into the ground.

"Fuck!" She shouted, running her hands through her hair and screaming angrily out into the nothingness she's seemingly destined to watch over from now on. The wind picked up slightly, but she barely noticed over her own anguish. No one was around, so, in an odd way, she was free.

She let tears freely flow, but she wasn't sad anymore. She was angry. Thanos stole her life right out from under her. She became a weapon. Just when she was able to get free, fall in love, be a part of something that was healthy. Something that mattered, he destoryed everything she'd ever come to love. Now, she was alone, destined to fill another task he had left for her to do, whether he realized it or not.

As she was thinking over all her anger, her screams became raspy, and sand began filling the air and turning it dark as so much wind had picked up. Her hair was wipping around her face, angrily clinging to her shoulders and neck as she watched the skies become darker and darker orange.

The pools of water begin to twitch beneath her and she stalked down the mountain, fists still balled up as this windstorm seemed to open up a clear path for her. It swallowed her in its chaos, but never got close enough to cause her any damage.

She did a double take as she passed by another puddle, seeing the flicker of someone else inside of it. The windstorm around her got overwhelming and she ran her hands through her hair, trying to calm herself down. Finally she knotted her fingers in her hair and shut her eyes, shouting "Stop!" into the air, barely hearing herself from all the noise around her. It almost reminded her of a warzone.

As soon as she opened her eyes, everything was ack to its calm quiet normalcy.

She glanced back down in the puddle below her, widening her eyes as she noticed how different she looked. Her irises were a rust color inside of their normal dark brown. She moved hair out of her face, dropping to her knees and staring at herself. She raised hands to her face, blinking several times.

She looked beside her to another puddle, noticing that it was an image, not a reflection. It looked like her and Peter's bunk in the Milano. She couldn't see anyone in the puddlle, but her eyes were glued to the pool.

"Peter!" She shouted after a moment, hoping she'd see that he was alright.

After a moment, Peter ran into view, gun drawn with his eyes wide. "Gamora!" He shouted, looking around violently. Tears were freely flowing down his face as he whipped his head around, gun drawn in front of him weakly.

She sighed, wiping tears as they fell down her cheeks. She was so close, she could see Peter. She needed to get back to him.

"Gamora!" She looked off to the side, another pool near her displayed Loki running through the park, holding his shoulder with a pained expression.

She stood between two pools, looking violently between the two paths. She never thought she'd see Peter again, and he was so clearly in reach. She needed to get back to him, but Loki was in danger.

They had agreed to protect each other, and he had saved her life so many times already. He needed her, but _Peter._

"Gamora?" She flinched when she heard both men say her name at the same time.

She ran her hands through her hair, looking between them.


	8. Chapter 8

"Gamora, come on." He pushed her hair out of her face, lightly tapping her cheeks as she was lying limp in the grass.

He looked around, holding her tighter to him, hoping to see someone, anyone who might be able to help.

"Damn," he muttered. "Well, love, we're gonna need to find someone like that child or Str-" he looked down, his breath catching in his throat when he looked down to see she was gone.

He jumped up quickly, "Oh no, no." He raised his hands above his head, gripping his hair and lightly tugging on it, "Gamora!" He yelled, looking around quickly. The more time went by, the more nervous he got.

After several minutes of calling out her name, he began to run towards the road, moving his head around violently, afraid to miss one spot she might be in.

He skidded to a stop before running across the street, just barely missing the line of a SUV flying in his direction. He stumbled a bit, wondering if it was the child or Strange, but his blood ran cold at the sound that followed.

"Isn't it nice we keep running into each other here, Odinson." Ebony Maw exclaimed, raising his hands as if he was bumping into an old friend.

Loki bared his teeth, conjuring a dagger in his hand. "Maw,"

Ebony tilted his head, a sinister smile forming. "Where is she?"

Loki looked behind him, acting confused, "I'm sorry, who?"

Ebony's smile faded into an irritated scowl, "Gamora."

Loki tapped his hand against his forehead, as if he made a stupid mistake, "Oh! Right, right. You want to find her for some reason."

"She is a traitorous wench," Ebony barked.

Loki shook his head, "Something tells me that's not why you're so desperate to find her, is it?"

Ebony set his jaw, but said nothing. Loki smirked, he had hit a nerve.

"Honestly, Maw," Loki barked, "Even in death, you're still nothing more than a pawn for Thanos' games."

Ebony balled up a fist, his anger cracking the foundation of a building behind him, "Even in death, Gamora is a threat."

"Yeah and why is that? We're all stuck in here forever. Why not come to some arrangement?" Loki asked, though part of him wanted to relish defeating Ebony in this realm. If death here is anything like what he's experienced, he was going to enjoy watching Ebony relieve a slow death.

"So diplomatic," Proxima Midnight snickered, stepping out from behind Ebony. "But that doesn't hide your treachery either," she spat, readying her spear, "You two are perfect for one another."

Loki rolled his eyes, "Well I haven't seen her." He tried to remain cool, but as two other members of the Black Order stepped forward, he set his jaw and stood on the balls of his feet, ready for a fight.

"I guess we'll have to force it out of you," the biggest of the children, Loki forgets his name, sneered.

He leaned his head to the side, cracking his neck before the impending fight. "Guess so."

They started forward, but Ebony put a finger up to them. "Search the city. She couldn't have gotten far," he ordered. "I can handle this one."

Proxima rolled her eyes, but complied. "Fine, as long as I get to drive a spear through Gamora's neck."

Ebony smiled, "Very well."

The rest of the Black Order broke off into different side streets, leaving Loki to face Ebony alone. Despite the fight being an even match, Loki still felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

"Asgardian, give up Gamora, and your death will be quick." Ebony offered one last time, crossing his arms over his chest and smirking.

Loki smiled in turn, changing his knife into a spear, throwing it at Ebony before he could start.

As he expected, Ebony side stepped it with ease, using the flick of his wrist to change the direction of the spear back to Loki.

Loki used his magic to create copies of himself all around the street, taking a breath and hoping Ebony won't be able to locate him. He's usually good at cloaking himself, but Ebony is one of the only people that is exceptionally better at magic than Loki himself is.

When Ebony focused on the copies running all around the street, Loki used the opportunity to run forward, drawing a dagger. He almost faltered at the memory of this sneak attack with Thanos. But this time was different. Ebony wasn't the Mad Titan, but he wasn't going to fail Gamora. Not like he failed Thor.

Just before he was close enough to plunge the dagger in Ebony's throat, some wire from power lines on either side of the road wrapped around his arms, yanking him to his knees. The fall was sudden and it broke his concentration. He was now visible to anyone who happened upon this street. Which didn't give Loki as much hope as it should've, considering no one is around.

Ebony snickered at Loki as the wire wrapped further and further up his arms, tightening so quickly Loki felt his right hand going numb. He dropped the dagger and watched as Ebony picked it up and examined it.

He let out a low whistle, "Nice craftsmanship. It seems to be her taste, if I remember correctly."

Loki bared his teeth again, trying not to the pain show. He was going to lose this one. His eyes widened as Ebony drew the dagger back. Loki used the little feeling he had in his hand left to twist his wrist, turning the dagger into a snake that bit Ebony's wrist over and over again.

Ebony fell backwards and the wires loosened their grip slightly. Loki pulled one arm free before the wire tightened again. He gritted his teeth and pulled his other arm through the tightening wires. He heard a soft pop and felt a shooting pain in his shoulder. He stumbled a bit before taking off running, cutting through an ally and using his magic to cut block the way with dumpsters and ladders from fire escapes.

He heard Ebony's voice far behind him, but he wasn't a fool. He knew Ebony could pop up anywhere. He stopped behind a phone booth, grasping his shoulder and breathing heavily. He's going to need to pop it back in, but the sound of heavy debris flying through the air and colliding with buildings made him push the pain out of his mind and keep running. He though for a moment and conjured a gun from Sakar, taking a few deep breaths before jumping out and firing towards Ebony. All the shots were easily evaded by him, but Loki threw the gun at him and smirked as it connected with the side of his head with a pained grunt.

Ebony stumbled a bit, and Loki took his chance. He used his magic to grip the phone booth, opening the swinging door on it as it flew through the air, entrapping Ebony inside of it before it landed harshly on the ground far down the road. Loki took off running down the road.

"Gamora!" He hissed as he cut through Central Park, trying to find her before the rest of them did.

As he cut through a small clearing and climbed up some bigger rocks on a hill, he felt the butt end of Promixa's spear connect with the back of his head. He tumbled down the hill, landing hard on his back. He attempted to jump back up, but she ripped a sharp piece of metal off a sign and shoved it through his calf, pinning him on the ground.

He bit the inside of his mouth, not wanting to show them any weakness.

Proxima looked down at him, smiling at the way he had been trapped like an animal. "Gamora?" She asked, her voice fierce.

Loki shook his head, "She's not here." He cursed himself for the way his voice seemed riddled with pain. Proxima rested her hand on the jagged piece of metal sticking out of his leg, "Wanna try again?"

He took a deep breath, "Haven't seen her." His voice was raspy, but his eyes were defiant. He wasn't going to let them find her, wherever she was. Loki just hoped if she ended up back here she'd run.

Her features became dark and angry as he gripped the metal and ripped it down through his leg, creating a deep slice through his calf. "Shit," he groaned, gripping his leg as blood poured through his fingers.

Proxima kicked his hand away, stepping on his fingers. He let out a sharp breath, "Why does it matter where she is? We're all dead anyways." He was amazed he could manage to get those words out relatively evenly.

Proxima growled as she lifted her spear, running the sharp edge over his cheek, a small cut formed down his face.

He grunted, biting his lip at the stinging pain.

"Last time. Where is Gamora?" Her voice was impatient, angry.

He forced a laugh, raising his hands as he sat up straighter. He had to force himself to ignore the pain in his leg, his face. "Not here," he remarked with a smirk.

"Wrong answer." She barked, drawing back her spear.

"Proxima." Ebony called from atop the hill Loki had fallen from.

Loki craned his neck to see behind him. Upon seeing Ebony Maw's satisfied face, he took a deep breath, thinking this might be his last.

Ebony climbed down slowly, rubbing his hands together menacingly. "We need him alive." He said with a smile as Proxima lowered her weapon.

Ebony used his magic to rip the piece of metal out of his leg.

"Damn it," Loki seethed as he gripped his leg. He looked around subtly, thinking this would be his last shot. While holding onto his leg, he used his free hand to push himself up. Before he could even stand, Proxima turned to face him once more and brought the side of her spear down against his jaw. Ebony shot her a look and she smiled, "What? We only need his mind alive."

He fell backwards, feeling his mouth fill up with blood.

Proxima squatted down to get as close to Loki as she could, "Perhaps you will be of some use to us," she spat in his face.

Ebony raised a hand, watching as the grass he was lying on was lifted in the air.

He took a deep breath. He needed to get away, to find Gamora. He tried to roll off to the side, but as if Ebony had read his mind, roots from the mound of earth he was on top of wrapped themselves around him, binding his arms to his sides. He winced as the roots wrapped tightly around his legs, dirt getting into the open wound down his calf.

They got out of the park and back onto a road. The walk was quiet, the only thing Loki could focus on was his hitched, uneven breath. He tried to roll over on his side in hopes to spit out some blood, but it just dribbled down the side of his jaw. Hopefully the Soul Stone won't affect his ability to heal quickly.

Unconsciousness was about to overtake him when he heard Strange's voice.

"Invading an injured man's mind? Kinda unethical don't you think?" Strange asked as they passed him. He was leaning on a street sign, arms crossed over his chest.

Ebony let out an irritated groan as he halted Loki to a stop. Proxima spun her spear around in her hand, tilting her head at Strange.

"You don't want to fight for this one," Ebony barked. "He has served Thanos."

"But he's a deserted," said the child also called Peter in the spider costume. He swung in front a nearby rooftop, landing on the side of a building about ten feet above Loki, leaning off and staring down at them. "Which means he's good in our book."

Strange's hands lit up orange as homework activated his powers. "Now," he started, "Give us that one and Gamora and we'll be on our way."

Proxima raises an eyebrow, "Well at least we can kill these two," she muttered.

Ebony smiled as he turned to look at her, "Have your fun."

Without hesitation, she launched her spear towards Strange.

Peter shot out a web, catching it in midair and struggling a bit before he maneuvered it into a nearby building.

"Wow!" Peter shouted as he bounced from building to building before landing on the road besides Strange. "That's a lot like the stuff Mr. Stark makes."

Strange smirked, "Sure is, kid."

Proxima groaned angrily before taking off running at them, Ebony stayed back, launching bricks and pieces of nearby cars at the two Avengers.

Strange used his magic to reverse the direction of the flying debris, sending it at Proxima.

Some hit her, knocking her several yards backward. She jumped up and whistled loudly, causing the two remaining fighters to stalk out of the alleyways, growling and smirking.

Peter gulped, "I guess I'll take the big guy," he muttered before casting a web and flying towards the fight.

Strange nodded, "Not exactly how I imagined death, but okay."

The smaller child of Thanos, Strange hadn't seen him before, charged at him with a knife drawn. Strange tried to form a circle to send him far away, but it wasn't working. "What the Hell?" He said aloud at his hands before barely side stepping the knife and falling back. He used his magic to grip a big piece of pavement, using it to block and pin his opponent. He jumped up, sending his cloak to bind Proxima hands together.

She fought against his red cape, crying out angrily as she tried to rip through the fabric.

Ebony rolled his eyes, barely flicking his wrist so Strange would be swallowed up by the bricks on the building beside him, much like he had done when they were in New York days ago. Strange tried to fight it, but without his ability to access magic to send the opponents away, he couldn't get free.

While Ebony was distracted by Strange, Loki managed to loosen some roots and roll off the side onto the pavement. He landed hard, but forced himself to get up and attempted to fight.

Ebony turned around quickly, but was thrown off by Peter getting a kick to the side of head. He fell over with a grunt, and Peter ran forward. He wrapped an arm around Loki's torso and used his free hand to cast a web and pull them onto a nearby fire escape.

Peter laid him against the ladder, and Loki leaned over, vomiting blood and bile on the grated ground beside them.

"Holy shit," Peter muttered, looking between the vomit and Loki quickly. "Are you alright?"

Loki forced a dry laugh, "Never better."

"Where is your friend? Maura?" Peter asked.

Loki shook his head, "Gamora. They don't have her. I don't know where she is." The panic of losing her began to set in again. He tried to stand up, but Peter put a hand to his chest to stop him. "We'll find her. Stay here. I'm Peter, or uh, Spider-Man, by the way. Good to finally meet you Loki," he shouted as he jumped over the side, casting a web and landing a kick to the bigger child

of Thanos that kind of resembled the Hulk to Loki.

The creature barely moved as he gripped Peter's (or Spider-Man, Loki guessed) ankle and slammed him into the pavement. Before he could bring down his weapon on Peter's head, the ground began to shake and shift beneath them all. Loki looked out at the city then, his eyes widening as he saw the sky getting darker and darker and the buildings seem to move as if a major earthquake was developing below them.

"What the Hell?" Ebony asked as portions of the pavement began to crack and fall apart.

A piece of the outer wall of a building beside Loki ripped out, flying into Ebony and forcing him through the next two buildings. Strange let out a low whistle as the bricks that entrapped him began to just disintegrate. He dropped to the ground, landing on his feet and brushing dust off his shoulders. He looked around, not seeing who their new ally was, but they sure were powerful.

Peter still couldn't get free of the bigger fighter's grip. It tightened around his neck. He began to weakly gasp for air and hit at his arms. Loki threw himself over the side, knocking into the fighter and freeing Peter. He rolled over and attempted to get to Loki, but Proxima threw a piece of pavement, connecting with his shoulder and knocking him off balance.

When Loki hit the ground, he coughed up more blood as he tried to steady his breathing. The fighter turned to Loki, smiling at an easy kill before drawing back his weapon. Loki shut his eyes, preparing for the end.

After a moment, he opened his eyes to see the fighter staring wide eyed at his weapon, which had also disintegrated in between his fingers.

"It's a good thing too," Gamora's voice cut through the air, deadly and strong. Loki rolled onto his stomach, lifting his head to see her standing a few feet behind him. He couldn't help but smile at her presence.

Gamora didn't look away from her opponent, "Killing him would've made me even angrier." She mumbled before running at him.

She pushed one hand off to the side, causing Loki to slide across the street into an alleyway, out of the line of fire.

The fighter gripped Gamora by her throat, but she wrapped her legs around his arm. He tried to shake her off, but she wouldn't move. He brought her face close to his to roar angrily in it. Gamora took her chance, smiling before drawing a knife out of thin air and stabbing him in the shoulder. He dropped her from his grasp and she used his moment of weakness to pull herself onto his shoulders, wrapping her legs tightly around him and snapping his neck with a simple, but strong twist of her hips.

The fighter went down. Loki had to blink several times, in awe of how someone of her size could've taken out someone the size of the Hulk in a manner or seconds.

Gamora landed into a somersault on the ground, recovering quickly and eyeing Proxima. Proxima already has eyes on Gamora and had thrown a knife from her holster. It caught Gamora in her hip and she faltered for a moment. Proxima ran forward, drawing another knife as she smiled, preparing to kill Gamora.

Gamora looked up, her eyes turning a deep rust color before putting her hand up at Proxima, "Stop!" She yelled.

Loki stumbled out of the alley to get a closer look. Even Peter and Strange stopped and were staring wide-eyed at the scene. Proxima had frozen in place. She could still move her head, and she was breathing heavily as Gamora ripped the knife out of her side with barely a wince and approached her.

"You know," Gamora said, tilting her head at Proxima, "I didn't get why you all wanted me dead so bad in here. I mean, we're all already gone. And risking so much injury to end a dead person seemed reckless." Gamora removed the knife from Proxima before releasing her. She fell to the ground and before she could lift herself, Gamora lifted her over her own head by her throat. "It's because Thanos knew who really controls the Soul Stone." Gamora stated, her tone deadly even.

"Please, s-sister." Proxima stuttered, grasping weakly at Gamora's forearm.

Gamora shook her head, "My sister isn't here." She growled before crushing Proxima's throat in her hand.

Loki tilted his head, amazed by her sudden abilities. As Proxima crumpled to the ground, her body and the bigger fighter's dissolved as if they were lost to the snap.

Gamora looked over at Loki, "Are you alright?"

Her words seemed to snap Peter and Strange out of their wide-eyed trance. They turned to Loki as well, gripping his arms as he stumbled further out into the street.

Loki attempted to nod, but the adrenaline seemed to wear off in that moment, and his leg gave out and he landed on his side on some broken up bricks and other debris.

Gamora ran forward, but stopped short at the rumbling coming from where Ebony was launched. The last member of the Black Order finally got free from beneath a car and other trash.

Gamora looked between them and back to Loki several times. "Shit," she muttered, weighing her options. She knew, even with all this power, taking out Ebony Maw would be a shot in dark. He was the one person she could never beat when she lived with Thanos.

She looked back to the two Avengers, "You two take care of Corvus," she nodded towards him as he angrily got free, stalking towards them with Proxima's spear. "I got Maw," she barked, her eyes turning rust again.

"Gamora. We should run," Loki begged, afraid of what will happen if they were able to defeat her.

Gamora looked over at Loki, sprinting towards him before Ebony could get free and back to the street.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she dropped to her knees,. She looked over his wounds, pressing his hand over his leg. He winced, but it was bleeding pretty badly.

"No need Love, they would've killed you." He muttered, "We agreed to protect each other. We're together now, and I'll be fine, but we need to go." He pleaded, trying to suppress another pained look.

Gamora noticed anyways, and shook her head. "You need to get out of here. Get someplace safe."

Loki spat out some blood beside them but still shook his head, "No, no. We made a promise. We're all we've got here." He quoted her, "We stick together."

Gamora nodded, tucking some of his sweat coated hair out of his face, "I know." She wipes some blood from the cut on his face off cheek and examined his swelling eye. "But I have to finish this, and you need help now," she said softly.

Loki shook his head, "I'm going nowhere without you."

Gamora nodded, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it. "Forgive me," she pleaded before shoving him backwards, and he fell through a crater she had formed while they were speaking.

Gamora stood up once he fell, looking down at the hazy view of where she sent Loki once he fell through. "Take care of him," she whispered before drawing the Godslayer and running back out to face Ebony Maw.

* * *

Loki landed on a metal floor with a clang. He rolled over, spitting out more blood. He looked up quickly, hitting the ground beside him in frustration. She'd sent him to some random place with no plan on how to get back to one another. "Shit," he muttered as he sat up.

He forced himself into a standing position, leaning heavily on a table for support.

"Dude," an unfamiliar voice barked from behind him, and Loki froze. "Who the Hell are you?"

Loki spun on his heel, raising his arms slowly.

Gamora's Ravager, looking much worse for wear, held his gun drawn at him.


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm not much in the mood for waiting anymore," Gamora's Ravager, or Peter, barked. His voice was raspy, his eyes swollen and his face was a little red.

Loki sighed, he's definitely grieving a lost love. "I'm Loki, of Asgard." He muttered, lowering one arm to support himself against the table beside him.

Peter still didn't lower his gun, "Why the Hell does that matter to me?"

Loki's eyes darted to the exits, he wasn't looking to fight the love of Gamora's life, but Peter didn't seem exactly stable. "I know Gamora." He stated, hoping that Peter would relax then.

He didn't lower the gun, instead, his hand started trembling, and his face got even redder. "Yeah, you and all of the Black Order," Peter barked.

"Wait, no. That's not how-" he started, but Peter cut him off.

"Stark told us about you. You're Thor's brother,"

Loki sighed, "Well, yeah, but I'm no friend of Thanos."

Peter shook his head, "It's because of people like you that she's gone." He punched the metal wall beside him.

Loki took a breath, this wasn't going to go well. He tried to put weight on his hurt leg, biting his lip as he felt searing pain up his entire left side. He didn't think he could fight this guy, and he wasn't particularly hoping to do that either.

"Look," he sighed, running a shaky hand through his hair, still matted with blood and sweat. "She's out there somewhere with-"

Peter cut him off again, "I don't want to hear shit from you. You are the reason Thanos got the stone he used to take her away from me!" Peter bellowed, closing the distance between them quickly.

Loki took a shaky breath as he felt the tip of the blaster press into his chest. He knew his strength was fading fast, and he needed to prove to Peter that he was an ally of Gamora's.

"You asked her to marry you!" He shouted when he saw Peter's finger rest on the trigger of his blaster.

Peter stopped then, lowering his gun but eyeing Loki with a mix of emotions. "How do you know-"

Loki cut him off, "She told me." Sort of, it wasn't technically a lie. "Gamora and I have been stuck in here together since Thanos killed us. We saw the fight on Titan with you and the rest of the Avengers."

Peter took a couple steps back, rubbing a hand down his face as if to wake himself up. "Where is here?"

"The Soul Stone. It seems like everyone that died either for or against Thanos ended up here," Loki let himself lean more weight into the table beside him, hoping Peter would finally listen to him.

He nodded after a moment, looking to the gash down Loki's leg. "Looks pretty bad," he muttered.

Loki nodded, allowing himself to breath heavily, no longer very worried to give away his pain level. "Some of the Black Order got to us."

"Is she still there?" His voice was urgent.

Loki nodded, "I didn't want to leave, I didn't even choose to. She pushed me backwards and I landed here."

Peter raised an eyebrow at his statement, not understanding what he was saying, "Where is she now?"

"New York, I think." Loki sighed, looking up to the ceiling he fell through, "Dr. Strange and the child also named Peter are helping her."

Peter's eyes widened, still clearly not grasping it all.

Before he could ask anymore questions, Loki spoke up, "Do you have some kind of first aid kit? I heal quickly but I need to patch my leg up."

Peter nodded quickly, side stepping him and grabbing one from a shelf across the room. "Sit here," he pulled out a metal stool for Loki, ushering him to sit down.

Loki took the kit as he sat and began to weed through it for bandages. Peter leaned against the table and watched Loki, drumming his fingers nervously on the tabletop as he did.

After several minutes, Loki looked up at Peter. "Are you going to keep doing that?" He huffed, annoyed.

Peter rolled his eyes, "I'm just waiting for you to tell me how to get back to her."

"If I knew that I wouldn't have ended up here," Loki snapped, not entirely sure why this man irritates him so much. "They were definitely winning last I saw, and she knew she was sending me to you. I suspect she'll join us when they've defeated Maw."

Peter raised an eyebrow, "Who is Maw?"

Loki blinked at him, "Only Thanos' favorite son, I imagine he was able to head the Black Order once Gamora left."

Peter nodded then, biting his lip in an attempt to hide a smile.

Loki raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Peter waved him off, "I just, I never thought I'd be able to see her again."

Loki felt a pang in his chest at the idea that, while Gamora and her ravager are both dead, they will be able to reconnect. He wondered if Thor had survived Thanos, if he was wandering out there looking for him. He made a mental note to ask Gamora if there was anyway she could tell if Thor had died with her new abilities.

He decided not to respond to Peter, focusing on wiping blood off his face then, tossing the now red disinfecting cloth on the table beside him. Peter winced at all the blood that came off his leg and face. "This guy must've gotten you good."

Loki nodded, biting his lip as he began to stitch his leg up. "Yes," he let out a deep breath. "In his mind, I imagine I had it coming."

Peter tilted his head, but said nothing.

Loki looked up, meeting his eyes and getting annoyed at the lost puppy look about this grown man. "What is it?"

Peter shook his head, "Did you know her? Before she left Thanos."

Loki raised an eyebrow, baffled at how little it seemed Gamora had shared with him about her time with Thanos. Part of him felt superior to the ravager, he was there when Gamora fought for and against Thanos. He shook the feeling off though, unsure why it suddenly mattered to him that he was better than a Midgardian Ravager.

"We met a few times when I served Thanos, years ago now." Loki hadn't actually thought much of those times lately. Not since he was imprisoned on Asgardian for his crimes.

"What was she like then?" Peter asked, breaking Loki out of his thoughts.

* * *

 _Loki had been confined to a small, dirty cell for days. He had encountered his captor, Thanos, briefly what felt like weeks ago. There were no windows and the light around him was minimal. It was essentially impossible to tell how much time had passed, and thought he'd never admit it, it was starting to get to him._

 _The only constant was this woman, he had resigned to call her "Angry," for now. She would come in once a day and berate him with questions about Asgard, Odin, Thor. While Loki had no reason to protect Asgard anymore, part of him felt insulted at the fact that his captors figured he'd give up any information so easily. He had decided after their first, rather violent interaction on Angry's part, that he wouldn't tell them anything about him or Asgard._

 _After what felt like weeks, his cell door opened again. He spit out some blood, using his magic to conceal his wounds with the illusion of a fresh green tunic and black pants. His magic mended his obvious bruising and cuts, and he pastered a smug smile across his features, ready for another round with Angry._

 _It confused him a little bit that his door opened slowly, no angry shouting or door slamming that usually followed Angry. He blinked several times when he realized it was someone different. Someone new._

 _Her skin was a beautiful shade of green. The only real flaw were sharp and precise silver lines across her face and excused shoulders and collar bones. Loki took note of those, no doubt markings to indicate cybernetic enhancements. By the way Angry looked most days, Loki figured awhile ago Thanos definitely favored his lackies having an added edge._

 _She closed the door behind her and leaned against the wall beside the door. She was just eating a yaro root while eyeing him up and down._

" _Who's going to talk first here?" He asked after several more silent moments._

 _She raised an eyebrow at him, "I guess you."_

 _He nodded, dropping his head and pushing himself off the floor and over to his mangled cot. "Where's Angry?"_

 _Gamora raised an eyebrow, smirking at the name he'd given her sister. "I'd been hearing about these meetings with Nebula for weeks now, I figured you might appreciate a little break."_

 _Loki tilted his head at her, "So what are you supposed to be then?"_

 _The green skinned beauty took another bite of the yaro root before pulling up a chair from the corner of his cell and sitting casually. "Call me your housekeeping, if you'd like."_

 _He bit back a small smile then, "Well, your staff is atrocious and you'd best fire them before people start leaving you reviews."_

 _This woman actually chuckled at his joke, and the freshness of his laughter made him wonder how often that sort of thing occurred in this place._

" _I'll definitely make a note of that and bring you some fresh towels."_

 _This time it was his turn to chuckle._

 _After several other moments, she spoke this time, "Are you going to give me a name so I can turn in the accurate comment card?"_

 _He smiled at her joke, figuring she probably already knew his name anyways. "Loki,"_

 _She nodded, "Of Asgard."_

 _He raised his shoulder, "Not anymore."_

 _She raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't press him for anything else on the matter. She did look over his clothing and definitely noticed a small patch of crimson forming in the green fabric of his tunic. "You're wasting a lot of magic for some pride." She commented casually, as if she was talking about the weather._

 _He forced himself not to flinch then, annoyed he had given himself away. But he refused to show anyone weakness here. "I don't follow," he stated simply._

 _She pushed herself up, and placed the chair gently back where she had gotten it. "Right," she mentioned before turning on her heel and wrapping her hand around his cell door's handle. She turned around with her fingers still wrapped around the door, noticing more bruising was forming around his right eye as his magic depleted his little remaining strength. "I'll be back in the morning with a med kit."_

" _I don't need any-"_

 _She put a hand up, Before you let your pride kill you, remember I'm only doing this so you'll recommend this place to your friends."_

" _Wait," he started, unsure of why he'd even said that._

 _She turned her head just enough to get a view of him from the side, "Yes?"_

" _Should I just call you Housekeeping or do you have an actual name?"_

 _She smirked at him, "Housekeeping is fine for now."_

 _He smirked at her, watching her hips sway as she left his cell._

* * *

Loki looked up at Peter after a moment, "Conflicted."

Peter looked thoughtful, "She doesn't mention it much. Neither does her sister."

Loki raised an eyebrow, "Nebula?"

Peter nodded, pushing himself to his feet and heading out of the room, "I haven't been able to really navigate the Milano anywhere, but maybe it'll work now."

Loki made a short grunt in turn, but didn't follow Peter. He looked down at his leg, letting out a deep breath at the sight of it. It wasn't healing at all, and blood was beginning to seep out onto the floor again. He looked around the room quickly to see if there was anything around that could help him stop the bleeding.

As he was searching the room, he came across a leather jacket draped over a chair, with a sword placed across the arm rests.

Loki tilted his head at it then, standing up and stumbling to get a closer look at the sword.

* * *

 _He was running through a forest, forcing himself to move faster. His breathing was heavy, his chest burning. Everytime he felt like slowing down, a detination would go off a few feet behind him, and he'd force himself to move quicker when he felt the heat from it on his back._

" _Shit, shit shit." He huffed as he ran, jumping over a fallen tree and stumbling through a river._

 _Yeah, the soul stone definitely wasn't here._

 _Loki pushed himself over some rocks, croching behind a bolder and out of the line of fire._

 _He pressed his ear, thankful for his communicator. "Gamora?"_

 _He gulped at the sound of static, "Gamora!"_

 _After a few moments and some explosions getting closer, Loki pushed himself up, drawing his sword. "Okay, guess I can handle this on my own."_

 _Loki ran over the rocks, extending his sword and running towards the fight. He couldn't see where they were coming from, but grenades were flying at him._

 _His eyes widened as one landed beside him and flames began to engulf close to his right side. Before it reached him, he felt someone jump up and knock him out of the line of the explosion._

 _He landed on his stomach, rolling over to see who had come to his recuse. He opened blinked his eyes until he realized Gamora had grabbed him and pulled him into a ditch to avoid the explosion._

 _She was already up, pulling him to his feet. "You alright?"_

 _He nodded, breathing heavily. "Yes, where were you?"_

 _She rolled her eyes, "Had to clean up the mess you made back there."_

 _He crossed his arms at her, "You said we needed to check that temple!" He raised his voice as an bomb went off behind them._

 _She threw her hands up, not even flinching as dirt landed around them, "Yeah, I said we! You just went ahead hacking away at the natives with that sword."_

 _Loki rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to retort but before he could, Gamora grabbed his forearm, pulling him behind her as she gripped his sword from his belt and used it to cut down a few warriors that climbed down the ditch as they were arguing._

 _Her eyes widened slightly at the force behind his sword. "Is this thing magic?" She asked as she delivered a swift kick to another's head._

 _Loki nodded, grabbing her arm and using his magic to shield them from a grenade that landed beside her. "It's called the God Slayer!" He shouted over the explosion._

 _She looked down at the sword, raising an eyebrow, "Asgardian?" She asked as she glanced at him._

 _He nodded, "A gift,"_

 _She let out a low whistle, looking up quickly and pushing Loki to the ground, throwing her sword and impaling two before they could grab him._

 _He looked up quickly, astonished with her skill._

 _She tucked some hair behind her ear, tilting her head at him as she helped him up. "What?"_

 _He looked down at his sword in her hand, "You should keep that."_

 _Her eyes widened, "No," she closed it and pushed the collapsed form towards his chest. "I'm no Asgardian."_

 _Loki raised an eyebrow, gripping her hands as he pushed it back towards her, "Neither am I,"_

" _But your mother gave it to you." She mentioned simply._

 _He paused then, surprised she remembered what little he spoke of Frigga. "I never said-"_

 _Gamora handed it back to him again, "You didn't have to." She turned quickly, but not quick enough to avoid a kick to the side of her face, knocking her off balance._

 _Loki fumbled a little bit, briefly distracted by her falling before dodging the warrior that had snuck up on them and spearing him with one of the horns on his signature helmet._

 _She had gotten up and spit out some blood before using a dagger to kill what looked like the last of them as the climbed down into the trench they had taken shelter from the grenades in._

 _After a moment of quiet, she and Loki took a breath. "I definitely think this place is a dead end," she muttered, blowing some stray hair out of her face._

 _Loki nodded, leaning forward to wipe some blood from lower lip. "I'd have to agree."_

 _She nodded in thanks, realizing then she still had a firm grasp on his sword. Her eyes widened, and she held it out to him. "Sorry," she muttered._

 _Loki glanced down at the in her hand, he closed her fingers around its handle gently, "Housekeeping," he called on the use of her nickname and was happy to see some light in her features, "Take it."_

 _She still looked unsure, and Loki rolled his eyes. "You honestly need to. I'm terrible with swords, it's why I'm a sorcerer."_

 _Gamora raised an eyebrow, still not convinced._

" _You'd be doing me a favor," he winked. "It's too much pressure, that thing."_

 _Gamora looked down at the sword, "The Godslayer."_

 _She met Loki's eyes and he nodded, "You'll be unstoppable."_

* * *

"What are you doing with that?" Peter shouted, running in the room and snatching the sword out of his hand. Or what was left of it.

Loki ignored his question, eyes fixated on the Godslayer, now broken in two pieces. "How was it destroyed?" He asked, his voice even.

Peter's eyebrows furrowed, in annoyance of concern, Loki wasn't sure. He only cared about the sword. "It's not yours," Peter snapped.

Loki snatched one of the pieces from Peter's grasp, "It's not yours either." He was growing irritated. "Did you break this?" His words were harsh.

Peter looked hurt for a moment. "It's her sword! Why would I ruin it?" Peter's voice was raising.

"Who do you think gave it to her?" Loki snapped. "But it wouldn't be surprising. Ravagers typically have less sense than they do honor." Seeing that sword with the Ravager and not with Gamora angered him.

Peter grabbed them from Loki's hands and dropped them on the metal table beside them, "What the Hell did you just say to me?"

Loki stood straigher then, or tried his best. He was very aware that while he had the height advantage, he was wounded and the Ravager seemed to be much more ready for a fight.

Before either of them could find out who would best the other, something forced them apart. "Hey!" a familar, steely voice called.

Loki looked over to the Ravager first, noticing he was suddenly near tears.

Violet and black waves surrounded her face, but he could tell by her stance and heavy breaths that she had just finished the fight. Loki looked around, wondering if he would see the younger Peter and Strange soon.

"Are you hurt?" He asked first, noticing the Ravager was still just staring at her, his mouth slightly agape. Loki didn't care about their relationship, or the Ravager at all for that matter, he pushed himself forward, moving hair out of her face to examine the damage.

He stopped himself upon seeing her eyes, they were rust in color again, and her face was coated in blood, only it mostly wasn't her own. The deep violet colored droplets across her forehead and cheeks definitely resembled more of Ebony Maw's type than her own, much to Loki's relief.

She shook her head, moving aside to distance herself from him completely. He swallowed a pang of hurt as he saw how quickly her eyes went back to the Ravager's.

Sudden sounds coming from across the room alerted him that the younger Peter and Strange were also entering the ship. Loki glanced briefly at them, but noticed that Gamora and the Ravager didn't even flinch at the sound. He sighed, stepping back towards them, unsure of how he would fit into this picture now that she's found her Ravager. How he'd fit into her picture.

"Gamora…" he finally spoke, stepping forward.

Gamora didn't move, her eyes wide and returning to her usual, deep brown colors.

Loki forced himself to look down at his feet when he saw the Ravager's hands cup her face. "Is it really you?" His voice was shaky, as if he was afraid she'd disappear as quickly as she had arrived.

Gamora didn't say anything, instead just made a sound that seemed to be a mixture of a laugh and a sob.

Loki looked back up to watch the Ravager pull her into his arms, embracing her completely. It was then he noticed how small Gamora's frame really was. The Ravager lifted her with ease, one hand tightly around her waist and the other cupping the back of her head. He felt a weird mix of emotions welling in his chest at the way Gamora was clutching onto him and burying her face into the crook of his neck.

He looked back at Strange and Peter, who were watching the exchange as well. Loki half expected them to look away or attempt to break up the interaction, but the hopeful looks on their faces just seemed to annoy Loki even more.

After a few moments, they pulled apart and Gamora turned back to the group. Her eyes found Loki's first and she scanned his body, sighing at the sight of his wounds still relatively untreated. She looked at Strange, "Can you help him?"

Strange looked over at him then, letting out a low whistle. "Jeez, Gamora. I thought you sent him here to get help."

The Ravager looked down at his feet, and Loki let out a snort. "I wouldn't call what happened here helpful."

Gamora approached him then, kneeling in front of him as Strange sat him down in a metal chair. "It was a quick plan to get you to safety."

Loki rolled his eyes and scoffed, "I thought the plan was we stay together." He glanced to see the Ravager perk up at his words. Gamora either didn't notice her lover's reaction or didn't care. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "You could've died. It wasn't safe for you out-"

Loki raised a finger to her lips, shaking his head. "Can't die in here I'm afraid, Love."

The Ravager approached them then, putting a hand on Gamora's shoulder gently. "We got off on the wrong foot, I admit." His words were as if he was building to an apology, but Loki knew it wasn't for his benefit. "I didn't know who he was or where he came from, he just dropped in from our ceiling."

Gamora nodded then, pushing herself into a standing position and turning to face the Ravager once more. "I was planning on coming back to you, I just couldn't leave them behind." She referenced to Loki, Strange, and Peter.

Loki bit back a annoyed grunt. _The three of them?_

The Ravager nodded at her, shooting Loki an annoyed glance. "How did you do all this, Mora?"

"Yeah I'd also be interested in understanding all of this too." Strange pipped up as he opened a first aid kit.

Peter didn't speak, but cleared his throat awkwardly and nodded in turn.

Gamora looked over her shoulder at Loki before taking a deep breath and leaning back against the table. "It's a complicated story."


End file.
